Authorities seek two diseased horses taken illegally from area stable under quarantine

By MATT CAMPBELL

The Kansas City Star

State and federal authorities are looking for two diseased horses that were taken illegally while quarantined at a Raytown stable. Officials say someone cut padlocks on the building doors and stalls at the Raytown Equestrian Park, 9400 E. 63rd St., sometime Wednesday night. They took two of seven horses that had tested positive for a blood-borne disease called equine piroplasmosis.

“Although this disease is not easily transmittable and does not affect humans, it is a disease that through ticks and contaminated needles can have a great impact on our horse industry,” Jon Hagler, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, said in statement. The department is working with local officials and the FBI to locate the missing horses, which are microchipped.

The five other horses at the stable that had tested positive for the disease were euthanized Thursday with the consent of the owners.

All 64 horses at the Raytown stable had been quarantined since June 6.

The origin of the infection is unknown.

Equine piroplasmosis was officially eradicated from the U.S. in the 1980s. But there was an outbreak last year in Florida that resulted in 20 horses being euthanized. According to a report on TheHorse.com, an equine health care site, investigators determined that the diseased horses in Florida were closely linked to two horses that entered the state from Mexico.

The U.S. has screened all imported horses for equine piroplasmosis for nearly 30 years, according to the Web site. But the testing can result in false negatives. The disease is characterized by fever, anemia, weight loss and jaundice, and can be fatal. It can also affect mules, donkeys and zebras.

To reach Matt Campbell, call 816-234-4905 or send e-mail to mcampbell@kcstar.com.

Posted on Thu, Jun. 18, 2009 10:15 PM