As disease is most likely to be introduced through the importation of an infected animal, horses should be subject to pre-movement screening including a veterinary examination to confirm they are not demonstrating any clinical signs of disease prior to movement, that negative diagnostic test results have been obtained and that the horse was free from tick exposure 30 days prior to travel.
In countries where disease is endemic, measures should be in place to reduce the exposure of horses to ticks and these include regular inspection of horses for ticks and the applications of repellents or acaracides. This is applicable to horses in the UK travelling to countries with endemic infection, where the risk of exposure is considered plausible.
Precautions should be taken to avoid transmission through blood, including stringent use of single-use needles and syringes and screening of horses prior to the collection of blood for transfusion purposes.
