Many Americans own some type of a pet. Pets are so common that a lot of families even own multiple pets. Owning a pet or owning multiple pets requires a lot of responsibility. You are responsible for the life of another living animal and you must provide them with water, food and medical care, when needed. Some pets are more common, like cats and dogs and others, like horses are not as common and may require more complex of medical care. It is important to understand the responsibility and everything that is involved with owning a pet prior to making that decision.
Animals, just like humans can carry and be susceptible to viruses and diseases. This is why, just like with humans, vaccinations are important and necessary. They are important in preventing disease and in preventing the spread of disease, as well. This is true even with the ownership of horses and other equine animals. 2 million people own horses. Owning a horse may require even more responsibility than owning much smaller animals, as additional space and exercise is crucial in the ownership. A horse requires daily exercise and training and it needs a lot of open space. Horses also need shelter, which is different from owning cats or dogs. Cats or dogs can be sheltered in your home, whereas a horse needs its own separate barn shelter. The fact that horses live and spend all of their time outdoors means that they are even more susceptible to disease and need to be vaccinated. A clinical diagnostics laboratory is a great place to get the horses vaccinations from. The clinical diagnostics laboratory can also test for any current diseases or viruses.
Testing for equine infectious anemia virus is also an important part of owning a horse. Most clinical diagnostic laboratory services involve contract lab services to test for this disease. Contract lab manufacturing may also provide other services in addition to the clinical diagnostics laboratory services, such as food safety testing. Food that is not tested for quality can contain contaminants that could cause disease in the equine. By far the majority of horses are inapparent carriers, they show no overt clinical abnormalities as a result of infection. They survive as reservoirs of the infection for extended periods, and have dramatically lower concentrations of EIAV in their blood than horses with active clinical signs of the disease.
Only 1 horsefly out of 6 million is likely to pick up and transmit EIAV from this horse. However, the chances are still there and necessary vaccinations and shelter precautions can reduce the risk of EIAV. Contract lab manufacturing is important in developing the testing and the vaccines for this equine disease. It only takes a small amount of blood from the infected horse to create an epidemic and to cause a lot of problems for many amounts of horses. One fifth of a teaspoon of blood from a chronic case of EIAV during a feverish episode contains enough viruses to infect 10,000 horses. This just further proves that the vaccine is not just for the sake of your own horse, but also for the sake of all horses nearby from you. A clinical diagnostics laboratory test can determine the need for additional treatment.
Owning a pet is a huge responsibility. They require food, water and shelter. They also require vaccinations in order to prevent disease and to prevent the spread of such diseases. A common disease threat in horses and other equine animals is that of EIAV and it can be very serious. All horses should be tested for it. Horses that show to be a carrier should receive treatment and should be continually monitored for symptoms of EIAV. This will also prevent the transfer of the disease to other animals, creating an equine epidemic.