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#14,187
It's been a week since we last checked in on the UK's Equine Influenza epizootic - their largest in nearly 2 decades - and the number of cases in the first twelve days of July (n=36) already exceeds the total reported in May (n=27), and is on pace to equal or exceed June's total (n=63).
In February of this year we followed the start of the UK's equine influenza outbreak (see UK BHA: All Horse Racing Halted After Equine Flu Reported In Vaccinated Horses) - which somewhat surprisingly - turned out to be due to the “Florida Clade 1” strain, which is normally reported in North and South America.
We've also seen outbreaks this month in Niger (OIE Report) and Sudan (OIE Report), and last April the the OIE summarized outbreaks in South America, Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia and concluded there has been a global increase in equine influenza activity over the past year.While Equine influenza is not currently believed to pose a human health threat, it is similar to other viruses which appear to have infected humans in the past, and so we watch its evolution and spread with interest.
In 2016, in Epizootics, Host Ranges, and Conventional Wisdom, we looked at the (admittedly, limited) scientific and historical evidence suggesting that equine influenza may have infected humans in the past, and could possibly do so again someday.For now this is primarily a concern to horse owners and the horse industry.
For more on the zoonotic potential of equine influenza, you may wish to revisit the following blog entries:
EID Journal: Equine Influenza - A Neglected, Reemergent Disease Threat
Equine H3N8: Looking At A long-shot In The Pandemic Sweepstakes.
A New Look At The Panzootic Of 1872