This proposed regulation is attempting to protect the horses brought into and kept in Virginia from Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA). EIA is similar to the HIV virus transmitted through humans. Horses infected with EIA can have three forms of the disease, acute, chronic and the asymptomatic carrier. Infected horses can die suddenly in the acute form and chronic form, but can live with no signs of infections in the asymptomatic carrier form. Horses can receive the virus from certain insects, contact with infected horses, and usage of infected needles on them. The virus only lives on insects for around 30 minutes so horses must be close together for the virus to be spread through insect contact. Other means of spreading the virus can be policed by sound human judgment on behalf of responsible horse owners. Horse owners whose horses have been diagnosed with EIA under this regulation will be given the options of keeping the horse isolated at 200 meters away from other horses on their property, sold to a slaughter house, or put down in a humane way.

 

To check for the virus, horse owners can have a Coggins test done on their horse. This test can be conducted by a trained vet at a cost between 20$-30$. The test is easily done and only requires a small amount of blood to be drawn from the horse. Before major testing was enforced, thousands of horses used to die in the U.S. annually from the disease. By having the test be mandatory at least every 12 months, horse owners will not have to fear that an outside horse could be an asymptomatic carrier thus threatening their own horses’ safety.

 

By passing this regulation, Virginia will become more horse owner friendly to horse owners inside and outside the state. Many other states already have mandatory EIA testing requirements in place with good results. By policing the horses inside our state, we will continue to thin out the presence of EIA and ensure a safe state to breed and raise horses for years to come. I support this regulation and wish to see it come into effect in the near future.