AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS - GHANA: (GREATER ACCRA) OIE

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A ProMED-mail post

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International Society for Infectious Diseases



Date: Fri 12 Feb 2010
Source: OIE, WAHID (World Animal Health Information Database), weekly
disease information 2010; 23(7) [edited]



African horse sickness, Ghana
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Information received on (and dated) 12 Feb 2010 from Dr Enoch
Boye-Mensah Koney, Acting Director, Veterinary Services Department,
Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Accra, Ghana

Summary
Report type: immediate notification
Start date: 18 Jan 2010
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 2 Feb 2010
Report date: 12 Feb 2010
Date submitted to OIE: 12 Feb 2010
Reason for notification: reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence: June 1985
Manifestation of disease: sub-clinical infection
Causal agent: African horse sickness virus
Serotype 2
Nature of diagnosis: laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to the whole country

New outbreaks
Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 1
Outbreak 1: Accra Polo Grounds, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Greater Accra
Date of start of the outbreak: 18 Jan 2010
Outbreak status: continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: farm
Species: Equidae
Susceptible: 185
Cases: 30
Deaths: 30
Destroyed: 0
Slaughtered: 0

Outbreak statistics
Species: Equidae
Apparent morbidity rate: 16.22 percent
Apparent mortality rate: 16.22 percent
Apparent case fatality rate: 100.00 percent
Proportion susceptible animals lost*: 16.22 percent
* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction,
and/or slaughter

Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive

Control measures
Measures applied:
- no vaccination
- no treatment of affected animals

Measures to be applied: Vaccination in response to the outbreak(s)

Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type: Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright
(United Kingdom) (OIE's Reference Laboratory)
Species: Equidae
Test: polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Test date: 2 Feb 2010
Result: positive

Future reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[ProMED-mail apologizes for the delay in posting.

African horse sickness is a devastating disease of horses and mules,
with donkeys and zebras being relatively resistant. Clinically, both
respiratory and circulatory systems can be affected with the striking
finding of edema in many places, noticeably in the fascial planes and
ligamentum nuchae upon necropsy. Sometimes a marked swelling of the
supraorbital fossa occurs. Affected animals literally drown in the
accumulated fluid in the respiratory tract while in other forms there
is cardiac failure.

Most of the times, disease is seen and Southern Africa but there have
been occurrences back to the 1970s as indicated by Wole Tomori in an
earlier Nigerian incident (see ProMED-mail African horse sickness -
Nigeria: serotype 2 (02) 20070308.0815). In Ethiopia, over 2000
horses were lost to this disease (see the postings listed below. - Mod.PC]

[Maps of Ghana are available at

and the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at
. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
African horse sickness - South Africa (03): update 20090406.1333
African horse sickness - South Africa (02): (NL), RFI 20090401.1255
African horse sickness - South Africa: (NL), susp., RFI 20090119.0239
2008
----
African horse sickness - Ethiopia (02): serotype 2, update 20080930.3087
African horse sickness - Ethiopia: serotype 2, RFI 20080916.2898
2007
----
African horse sickness - Senegal (02): Dakar, OIE 20070915.3066
African horse sickness - Senegal (04) 20070911.3005
African horse sickness - Senegal: susp., RFI (3) 20070825.2788
African horse sickness - Senegal: serotype 2, sequence (2) 20070627.2074
African horse sickness - Senegal: serotype 2 20070623.2031
African horse sickness - Nigeria: serotype 2 (02) 20070308.0815
African horse sickness - Nigeria: serotype 2 20070131.0399]
....................................pc/nm/pc/mj/mpp

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