The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced that a case of Equine Infectious Anemia has been detected in Alberta’s St. Paul County.

It has been announced that on Friday, June 28, a positive EIA result was confirmed by the CFIA’s national reference laboratory for a horse located on a premises in the County of St. Paul, in the province of Alberta.

The horse had been sampled by an accredited veterinarian because it was exhibiting clinical signs compatible with EIA infection. A CFIA investigation is currently underway and as per program policy, a quarantine has been placed on the infected horse and its on-premises contact animals. The breed of the equine in question has not been announced.

Initial reports indicate there are several equines on the affected premises. The quarantine will remain until all disease response activities have been completed, including follow-up testing and ordering the destruction of positive cases.

Trace-out activities may require the CFIA to undertake actions at additional premises as outlined in the current policy.

(With files from the CFIA)