All equine competitions and gatherings are suspended until March 28, the fault of a variant of the EHV-1.
Better known under the name of rhinopneumonia, this highly contagious virus known to veterinarians reappeared at the end of January 2021, during an international competition organized in Valencia (Spain).
But this time, the virus is expressed in a nervous form, therefore terribly dangerous for the infected horse.
In Maisons-Laffitte (Yvelines), the owners, worried, are following the epidemic very closely.
In the City of the Horse, we monitor the slightest symptom with attention.
“Overall, everyone is very aware.
As soon as a horse has a fever, we call the veterinarian, we do the test, reacts Véronique Bertran de Balanda, deputy mayor of Maisons-Laffitte, delegate for equestrian activities.
We are all very worried and very cautious but, for the moment, there are no cases.
"
VIDEO. Deadly epidemic of rhinopneumonia in horses: "vets have never seen this"
It must be said that no stallion from the city was entered in Valence.
To date, there are still about fifteen French outbreaks confirmed in stables of horses returning from Spain, as in Seine-et-Marne.
"For us, this is good because it prevents rhinopneumonia from spreading here," blows Edouard Boutolleau, head of the training center and the Maisons-Laffitte racecourse.
A very strict health protocol
However, the precautionary principle applies on the site, with the implementation of a sanitary protocol which consists in disinfecting the boxes, the equipment and the saddlery;
restrict movement of animals;
prevent outsiders from coming into contact with equines;
disinfect your hands so as not to spread the virus.
“It is true that with the Covid, we are already well aware of barrier gestures.
We continue to apply them, says Edouard Boutolleau.
Afterwards, if a horse was contaminated, it would be isolated immediately when it was taken out of the stable, and an even more thorough disinfection protocol would be applied.
"
"As soon as a horse has a fever, we call the veterinarian, we do the test," says Véronique Bertran de Balanda, deputy mayor of Maisons-Laffitte delegate for equestrian activities.
LP / Maxime Fieschi
The stakes are high because nearly a thousand equines are listed in the town, divided in half between race horses and saddle horses.
“You should know that racehorses are vaccinated twice a year against this virus but we are still very careful, says Véronique Bertran of Balanda.
Instructions have been given by the federation to prevent the spread and transmission of the virus.
We can also count on the Respe, the epidemiological surveillance network in equine pathology.
"
A crisis unit set up
Created in 1999, this network relies on 950 sentinel veterinarians spread across the country.
To respond to the emergency of the health context, a crisis unit has been set up to disseminate information to all players in the sector from the world of sport and racing, amateurs and institutions.
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“In the situations we are currently experiencing, we mobilize a certain number of actors to regularly draw up a precise inventory, adopt a strategic plan and adapt the recommendations”, explains Christel Marcillaud-Pitel, veterinarian and director of Respe.
The president of the network's scientific and technical council, Anne Couroucé, has also been commissioned by the French Equestrian Federation to assess the situation in Spain.
On site, she noted "a certain lack of organization and management of the health situation".
If the cell remains open "at least until the end of March", specifies Cristel Marcillaud-Pitel, the activity can "resume normally once we are sure that there will be no more risk".
