On January 22, 2021, positive equine infectious anemia (EIA) results were confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) national reference laboratory for seven horses located on a premises in Lac Ste. Anne County, Alberta. The CFIA had sampled several equines at the newly affected premises as part of a disease investigation that began in 2020.
The property is home to an animal rescue organization and equines from various other locales have travelled through there. Clinical signs indicating EIA infection were noted by veterinarians when the animals were sampled.
EIA, sometimes referred to as “swamp fever,” is a viral disease of horses, donkeys and mules. It is only occasionally fatal, and is transmitted through contaminated blood from one horse to another. Biting insects such as mosquitoes act as a vector for the disease. EIA can also be transmitted through semen from an infected stallion.