A University of Florida veterinarian has issued an alert about the compounded drug produced by a Kentucky pharmacy after the deaths of two thoroughbred horses and neurological problems in six others at an Ocala training facility.
Drug alert for equine veterinarians
A University of Florida veterinarian has issued an alert about the compounded drug produced by a Kentucky pharmacy after the deaths of two thoroughbred horses and neurological problems in six others at an Ocala training facility.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert after the horses apparently died from complications after being given the drugs to treat or prevent equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, or EPM. EPM affects the central nervous system in horses and is transmitted through opossum waste, which horses ingest while eating tainted food.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert May 15 that documented the deaths of two horses in Lexington, Kentucky. The agency noted that high doses of the drug can cause fever, seizure and death. One of the Ocala horses died during a seizure.
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a common neurological disease of horses found throughout the United States, southern Canada and countries in Central and South America.
The disease affects the central nervous system of the horse and usually begins insidiously, but sometimes has an acute onset and can be quite severe. Signs of spinal cord involvement are more common than signs of brain disease.
Without treatment, EPM often progresses to cause recumbency and death. The progression of the disease may take a few hours or can occur over weeks, months or years. Progression may occur steadily or may stop for a period of time, only to begin again.
At least 60% of horses improve with treatment, but less than 25% ever recover completely. Relapses are common in horses that continue to test positive, but rare in those that test negative after treatment.