National
King Ranch is the epicenter of a monthslong outbreak of a deadly horse disease rarely seen in the United States that kills as many as 20 percent that it infects.
As of Jan. 20, 364 cases of equine piroplasmosis had been confirmed. Of those, 289 are on King Ranch. The rest are scattered across Texas, Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana,Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin, according to the World Animal Health Information System.
A South Texas ranch, identified by the Texas Animal Health Commission
as the outbreak’s source, has sold horses with equine piroplasmosis in
15 states since 2004.
Jack Hunt, the CEO of King Ranch, confirmed the outbreak started on the
ranch.
Horses, donkeys, mules and zebras are susceptible to the disease, which
is caused by two parasitic organisms. More severely affected animals
can have fever, anemia, jaundiced
mucous membranes, swollen abdomens and labored breathing.
“It will kill a horse,” said Mike Vickers, a Brooks County veterinarian
and commissioner on the Texas Animal Health Commission. “It’s very,
very serious.”
No horses have died, officials believe. The ranch’s 300-plus horses
have since been quarantined. Piroplasmosis had never been seen in Texas
and rarely had been found in the United
States, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission, the state’s
livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. It is prevalent in 90
percent of the world and commonly found in
Mexico. Once a horse is infected, the parasitic organisms remain in
the horse’s system permanently, making the horse a potential carrier.
It does not affect humans or other non-equine
mammals.
Ticks usually transmit the disease to horses, but it also has been
spread from animal to animal by contaminated needle. There is some
concern that it might be spread by biting horse
flies, Vickers said. Hunt, who has been in the ranching business for
35 years, said he had never heard of the disease when it was discovered
in October. Eight other ranches in Jim Wells,
Kleberg and Brook counties have been quarantined and tied to the
initial outbreak, said James Lenarduzzi, a veterinarian with the Texas
Animal Health Commission. Horses from ranches
adjacent to King Ranch will be tested in coming weeks to determine if
they are infected.
The 825,000-acre King Ranch includes most of Kleberg and Kenedy
counties and portions of Brooks, Jim Wells, Nueces and Willacy
counties. It is renowned for its horses, including 1946
Triple Crown winner Assault and 1950 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes
winner Middleground. Though the ranch still has a horse breeding
program, no horses have been sold since the
quarantine, Hunt said. The Texas Animal Health Commission issued its
first directive on the South Texas-based infection Oct. 20, noting that
the disease had been confirmed on an undisclosed
ranch. Canada promptly banned imports of Texas horses, though later
relaxed the restrictions. Ten states have stringent restrictions in
place that call for testing and other controls before a horse
can be imported from Texas.
State Rep. Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, D-Alice, who chairs the House
Committee for Agriculture and Livestock, got involved this week after
several South Texas ranchers complained that
King Ranch has kept its name away from the outbreak, which started in
October. Hunt said King Ranch self-reported the infection, which was
required by law, and has worked openly with
state and federal agencies since.
“We are putting a lot of resources and energy into trying to figure out
a way to take care of the problem,” Hunt said. “What we don’t do is
cover up stuff, which we have been accused of in this case.”
The state has 1 million horses. Owners, family members and volunteers
spend $3 billion per year attending competitive events with more than
250,000 horses, according to a Texas A&M University
report. And horse owners have more than $13 billion invested in barns,
towing vehicles, trailers, tack and related equipment and spend more
than $2.1 billion annually to maintain their horses.
Some South Texas ranchers are angry that the state and federal
government have been tight-lipped on the disease’s origin, said
Lavoyger Durham, who manages the 13,000-acre El Tule Ranch
near Falfurrias for Brown & Root heiress Nancy Brown Negley.
Lenarduzzi met with Durham and about 25 fellow South Texas ranchers
Thursday to discuss the disease but would not say where it started,
which Lenarduzzi said is standard operating procedure.
Gonzalez Toureilles said she will meet with Texas Animal Health
Commission officials by Monday to make sure the outbreak is being
handled correctly.
King Ranch also is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
some of the nation’s top epidemiologists on experimental procedures to
remove the parasite from a horse’s system, Hunt said.
“They have sent great people to work on this project, and we have had
lots of interaction,” Hunt said. “It’s just a process we are all going
to have to go through. It’s not pleasant for anybody affected by it.”
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