Additional Florida Horses Test Positive for Equine Piroplasmosis

Further testing on samples from horses on the index premises in Manatee County, have indicated that four additional horses on the premises are infected with the organism that causes Equine Piroplasmosis (EP). The four positive horses were stabled in the barn with the initial clinical horse. All other horses on the premises, which are managed separately from the horses in the barn, were negative on testing. In addition, 20 ticks found at the premises were identified as the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), which has not been shown to transmit the disease between horses.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the transmission on the index premises may have been caused by use of common needles between horses and not spread naturally by a tick vector. The Department is continuing its investigation including additional horse and tick surveillance of the area. As a precaution, 3 adjacent premises and 1 contact premises have been placed under quarantine pending further sample collection and testing. 

Source: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Animal Industry Press Release