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  Discussion on CEM is in Ky
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Member:
leslie1

Posted on Monday, Dec 22, 2008 - 10:51 pm:

There is an outbreak of CEM at a Ky breeding farm...not a TB farm --- its coming out of DeGraaf Stables, which is a big-time quarter horse farm thatincludes the stallion Indian Artifacts. Also a bunch of others.

Cheers?
Leslie
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 - 7:35 pm:

re: CEM in Kentucky - DeGraff Stables has been VERY pro-active in posting information about this outbreak on their farm: go to their website: www.degraffstables.com. As of 12/23/08 four studs have tested positive, 5 negative, and 14 pending - the list of positive and negative studs is on DeGraff's site. The USDA and APHIS is now involved so this is federal and not just state. Every mare bred to the positive studs will have to be tested from what the website says. It appears that this is being taken very very seriously, altho the big question still remains unanswered - how did the disease get to the DeGraff farm in the first place ??
Watch the DeGraff website and also the AAEP's website www.thehorse.com for future information about CEM in Kentucky.

Susan K. Mangus
Springledge QH Farm
HIckory, KY
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 - 7:39 pm:

ALSO ... there is a super video interview with Dr.Peter Timoney regarding CEM on the AAEP website: www.thehorse.com.

Susan K. Mangus
Member:
gr8care

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 24, 2008 - 10:38 am:

Does anyone know the 20 states that have been notified, so far, that have horses exposed to CEM related to this facility?

It is VERY commendable that DeGraff Stables is keeping the public so well informed. They are a first class operation.

Let's hope that the source of this outbreak is able to be identified/located. Does anyone know how this is affecting export of horses to Europe and Middle East? At one point, I read there was a Brazilian shipment grounded until Brazilian and Argentine authorities made decisions.

???
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 24, 2008 - 11:15 am:

Grace - all can tell you for sure is that Texas is one of those states. We were going to foal-out a mare bred to Indian Artifacts for friends who live in Texas. It appears from DeGraff's website that the USDA is requiring the extensive testing for ALL mares bred to the positive studs... exact number of mares unknown until those other 14 "pending" stud's results are known, potential to be a huge number tho. Kentucky is right on top of this with the USDA and APHIS... there was an outbreak of CEM here in 1978 that shut down the TB farms for the entire breeding season at incredible financial loses, and they do NOT want a repeat of that.
re: export restrictions - still up in the air now that the USA is a positive country.

Susan K. Mangus
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 24, 2008 - 9:11 pm:

Grace - re: what states - as of today 12/24/08, according to posts on the Internet, Virginia State Vets have quarantined farms in 2 counties with CEM positive mares who had been bred to KY studs - also in Canada in Ontario and Saskatchewan (sp?) provinces the Canadian authorities have quarantined farms with positive mares who had been bred to KY studs.

Susan K.Mangus
Member:
gr8care

Posted on Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 - 1:16 am:

Urghhh! I was hoping it would not be so far reaching... I think there were over 150+ mares bred to the 4 confirmed positive stallions?? Over 700 mares bred by DeGraff in 2008???

I don't think anyone in the horse industry wants to see this, especially with all the other economic strains...
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Dec 26, 2008 - 9:08 am:

The AAEP has put out a news release dated Dec 21st that we have placed in the article along with other important information on this disease.
DrO
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Sunday, Dec 28, 2008 - 2:03 pm:

Contrary to what has been posted on the Internet by various sources, including the media, the Virginia State Veterinarian and the Canadian CFIA have both recently posted that the farms they have quarantined do NOT at this time have positive mares but are quarantined as a precaution while the mares bred to Kentucky CEM positive studs are being tested. More to come as test results become available. Also the Canadian provinces involved at this time at Ontario and ALBERTA, not Saskatchewan.
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 31, 2008 - 8:55 am:

As of 12/30/08, the DeGraff Farms website has posted 2 more CEM positive studs and 2 more negative studs, bringing the totals to 6 positive / 7 negative / 10 pending. They also state that due to the holidays and laboratory closings some studs will not have their initial cultures done until next week, then there is a 2-3 week wait period. They will continue to post testing results as they become available.
Anyone reading this from Kentucky and who owns a stallion, keep an eye on the www.kyagr.com website. Our home vet said yesterday that without a doubt the KY Dept. of Ag. is going to make some type of announcement about KY stallion testing for CEM, but whether or not this will be a "zone" requirement (around the ground zero farm) or "blanket" requirement for all KY studs is anyone's guess right now.
Member:
gr8care

Posted on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 - 11:27 pm:

For those of us keeping an eye on the CEM outbreak--

From https://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/hot_issues/cem/index.shtml
In addition to the 7 positive stallions, the locations of 172 exposed horses have now been confirmed. The total of 179 horses includes 23 stallions and 156 mares located in 34 States. All CEM-positive horses, and all exposed horses that have been located, are currently under quarantine or hold order. Testing and/or treatment protocols are being put into action for all located horses. Almost 200 additional exposed horses are actively being traced.

States who have allowed public notice of facilities under quarantine or hold orders due to CEM:
Indiana
Kentucky
Montana
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Texas
Virginia
Wisconsin
Alberta, Canada
Ontario, Canada

It should be noted that no mares have tested positive to CEM. Most are just now starting their first series of tests with no results available, just yet. Additional results are expected within the next couple of weeks.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2009 - 8:21 am:

Thanks Grace.
DrO
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Monday, Jan 26, 2009 - 8:19 pm:

Dr. O - I would appreciate your thoughts - a Friesian stallion is Wisconsin is now thought to be the "index" horse for this CEM outbreak. The horse, according to website postings, came to the USA from the Netherlands (CEM positive country) in late 2004, passed quarantine in Jan. 2005, and then went from California to the AI facility in Wisconsin where he is blamed for infecting other studs, one of which then causing our Kentucky outbreak of CEM.
My question is this: a) are our USA and USDA quarantine procedures bad/lax enough to let a CEM positive horse pass... or b) is this Friesian being made a "scapegoat" just to close the case when in fact he may have been infected himself by another stud at this facility?
I am not sure which I would "prefer" - either we are really in bad shape with our quarantines, or CEM is and has been around here in the USA for some time like a bomb waiting to go off.

Susan Mangus
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009 - 8:05 am:

Hello Susan
As of yesterday APHIS/USDA has this information on the source of the outbreak:
A total of 10 stallions have now been confirmed as positive for CEM by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. The infected stallions are located in four States: three in Indiana, four in Kentucky, one in Texas, and two in Wisconsin. The Texas and Indiana stallions spent time on the central Kentucky premises during the 2008 breeding season. The Wisconsin stallions were not in Kentucky, but were co-located during the 2007 breeding season in Wisconsin with one of the CEM-positive stallions that was on the Kentucky premises in 2008. None of the positive stallions have yet been identified as the source of the CEM outbreak; the epidemiologic investigation continues to pursue all available information relative to determining the origin of this outbreak, but no conclusions can yet be drawn.


I would note that your "either-or" question presents a false dichotomy and possible inaccurate conclusions. There are other explanations for the outbreak than those you propose. For instance, if a horse does get through importation quarantine it is not necessarily a defect of the procedure. In the case of CEM there is no practical way to 100% to determine if a stallion is infected. Even the newer PCR's give the occasional false negative making it impossible to say with 100% confidence a horse is free of CEM. For more on this see the article on CEM.
DrO
Member:
gsmangus

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009 - 9:45 am:

Dear Dr. O - Thanks so much- that clears up a lot of confusion! If the CEM is not 100% detectable then I guess the bigger surprise is that this has not happened before. We will just need to sit tight and watch how the investigation progresses. I find it, from a scientific point of view, very interesting.. altho if I had to go thru all the procedures/testing that even just "exposed" horses are going thru I might feel otherwise !
Thanks again.

Susan Mangus
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