Horse Diagnosed with Disease
Save Email Print
Bookmark and Share
Updated: 8:08 AM Aug 18, 2008
Horse Diagnosed with Disease
Fla official: Horse dies of disease thought to be eradicated in US.
Posted: 8:05 AM Aug 18, 2008
width:200 and height: 120 and picwidth: 200 and pciheight: 120
Font Size:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) The state says a horse in southwest Florida has been diagnosed with a disease thought to be eradicated in the United States.

Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson announced Friday that a 7-year-old Manatee County gelding was euthanized after being ill for three weeks.

Tests confirmed the presence of equine piroplasmosis, a parasitic blood disorder that causes fever, swelling and often death.

Bronson's office says the United States has been considered free
of piroplasmosis since 1988.

The State Veterinarian's Office is investigating the source of the disease and whether it has spread.

It can be passed through shared vaccination needles.

Bronson's office urges vets and horse owners to monitor their animals and report suspected cases.
More Stories
Pinpoint Weather
Click Maps to Enlarge
WCTV Online Poll
Has the government toughened mortgage lending laws enough to make sure the foreclosure crisis doesn't happen again?

Yes
No


Comment on Today's Poll
Most Viewed
Commenting Policy
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

For more on WCTV’s policy regarding viewer comments, click here.