Why do horses in South Africa not have to be euthanased if they are infected with AHS?
AHS is endemic to South Africa, where a strategic vaccination programme has been implemented to control the disease. In the UK, where a disease outbreak has not yet occurred, no horses have natural immunity and no vaccination is yet available. An outbreak has the potential to cause an epidemic , and in a naïve population the devastation to the equine population could be huge. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate a source of infection quickly to prevent the disease from spreading.
