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Stall-Side Test For Equine Disease May Assist With COVID-19 Detection

Scientists have discovered a way to use a cell phone's camera to detect respiratory diseases like equine influenza in horses; that same technology could help identify COVID-19 in humans. These easily spread diseases can cause large death tolls, as well as economic loss and disruption of daily life.

One complication to slowing the spread of diseases like these are the is the lack of widely available testing that can offer speedy and accurate results, reports The Horse. This means that communities are unable to make informed recommendations regarding quarantines that can help control the spread of the disease.

Early diagnosis of disease, whether in horses or humans, is key to controlling the spread of disease, notes Dr. Brian Cunningham, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If obtaining results takes days, whether because of a backlog of samples or lab closures because of holidays, the virus has already spread before a positive result is even given. Adding to the potential delay in diagnosis and implementation of control strategies is that some affected patients may have more than one disease.

Cunningham has developed a testing technique for a variety of equine respiratory pathogens, including Streptococcus equi, EHV-1 and EHV-4, and equine influenza. The test uses nasal swabs to detect viral RNA, which is converted to DNA and then amplified in compartments on a silicon chip. Each compartment on the chip can be used to test for a different virus. The chemical reaction it produces replicates billions of copies of the original viral nucleic acid sequence. Fluorescent markers bind to the DNA during amplification, which can be seen on smartphone cameras as green light.

The entire test takes about 30 minutes and can be done stall side, eliminating the need to send samples to a lab and wait, possibly days, for results. With modification, the test could also be used to detect contagious human respiratory viruses like COVID-19.

Precautionary Quarantine of Barn 37 at Belmont Lifted

Officials at the New York Racing Association and New York State Gaming Commission have removed the precautionary quarantine placed on Barn 37 at Belmont Park after test results for a horse with a suspected case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) came back negative.

Freudnme (Freud), a 4-year-old colt trained by Chris Englehart, exhibited fever and neurological symptoms Saturday morning, which triggered a precautionary quarantine of all 37 horses stabled in Barn 37 at Belmont. In addition, heightened biosecurity measures were immediately implemented throughout the barn and all horses were monitored for fever and other symptoms.

All horses in Barn 37 were found to be afebrile and asymptomatic.

Following the negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which were performed at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, the precautionary quarantine has been lifted effective immediately. As a result, horses stabled in Barn 37 can enter races and train among the general population.

Freudnme is currently under the care of a private veterinarian and is being closely monitored. He last raced when finishing second in the Ontario County S. June 24, 2019 at Finger Lakes.

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Quarantine Lifted On Belmont Barn After Suspect Horse Tests Negative For Equine Herpesvirus

Officials at the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) have removed the precautionary quarantine placed on Barn 37 at Belmont Park after test results for a horse with a suspected case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) came back negative.

Freudnme, a 4-year-old colt trained by Chris Englehart, exhibited fever and neurological symptoms on Saturday morning, which triggered a precautionary quarantine of all 37 horses stabled in Barn 37 at Belmont. In addition, heightened biosecurity measures were immediately implemented throughout the barn and all horses were monitored for fever and other symptoms.

All horses in Barn 37 were found to be afebrile and asymptomatic.

Following the negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which were performed at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., the precautionary quarantine has been lifted effective immediately. As a result, horses stabled in Barn 37 can enter races and train among the general population.

Freudnme is currently under the care of a private veterinarian and is being closely monitored. He last raced at Finger Lakes Racetrack in the Ontario County Stakes on June 24, 2019, where he finished second.

The post Quarantine Lifted On Belmont Barn After Suspect Horse Tests Negative For Equine Herpesvirus appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Belmont Barn 37 Under Precautionary Quarantine

Officials at the New York Racing Association and New York State Gaming Commission have placed Barn 37 at Belmont Park under a precautionary quarantine after a suspected case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) developed in that barn.

Freudnme (Freud), a 4-year-old colt trained by Chris Englehart, exhibited fever and neurological symptoms Saturday morning and has started treatment under the care of a private veterinarian. H. last raced at Finger Lakes June 24,

Overseen by Dr. Anthony Verderosa, Director of NYRA’s Veterinary Department, and in consultation with the NYSGC, the quarantine of Barn 37 is effective immediately with standard precautions and biosecurity measures now implemented throughout the barn. The length of the quarantine will be determined following the return of test results.

All 37 horses stabled in Barn 37 will be monitored daily for fever and other signs of illness. During the initial quarantine period, these horses will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population.

Afebrile/asymptomatic horses stabled in Barn 37 will have isolated training hours following the closure of the training track. At this time, no other horses in the quarantined barn have developed fever or exhibited symptoms. NYRA will provide additional updates as necessary.

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