ASSOCIATIONFOUNDA
EDCC celebrating nine years of service to the horse industry By Leslie Barlow, EDCC Communications Manager
Turning tragedy and setbacks into something that could help horse owners in the future were the thoughts of Dr. Nat White when he worked alongside industry representa- tives to create the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC).
Dr. Nat White
The EDCC is celebrating nine years of protecting horses and the horse industry from the
threat of infectious disease in North America. Its commu- nication system, launched in 2015, is designed to seek and report real-time information about disease and help prevent the spread of infectious disease.
The EDCC was conceptualized in the wake of an Equine Herpesvirus-Neurologic (EHV-1) outbreak at a cutting horse show in Utah in 2011, which saw the disease outbreak spread when exposed horses dispersed to 19 states.
“That outbreak resulted in rapid spreading of misinfor- mation and rumors nationally due to the lack of an effecting communication system,” said Dr. White, director of the EDCC. “The result was unnecessary curtailment of all types of horse activities in many states causing signifi- cant economic losses.”
Dr. White was called upon to chair an AAEP task force to find how the horse industry should respond to future outbreaks. At the same time, he was working on the creation of the National Equine Health Plan with the American Horse Council (AHC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). His recommendation: establish a communication system to alert horse owners and veterinarians about infectious disease outbreaks with accurate real-time information nationally and develop biosecurity guidelines for outbreaks at horse events.
The EDCC concept was presented in October 2013 at the United States Animal Health Association meeting. “Initially, there wasn’t much optimism that a national communication plan would work,” Dr. White said. “State veterinarians were concerned about privacy and liability, and funding was needed to support personnel and operations. Most were supportive of the idea but not sure it was possible.”
However, the horse industry would rally behind the EDCC due to the support and fundraising of Jay Hickey, then-AHC president; Dr. Jerry Black, AAEP past president and former AHC board chair; Keith Kleine, AAEP director of industry relations; and Dr. White. Although the USDA provided start-up funding, the center relies on
private support to fund operations. Additionally, the United States Equestrian Federation manages the EDCC website (
equinediseasecc.org) and AAEP helps with fund- raising and supplies fund and personnel management through The Foundation for the Horse, which makes donations tax deductible.
Since its inception, the EDCC has issued more than 3,700 alerts for more than 6,200 different outbreaks. The alerts come from state animal health officials or attending veter- inarians who submit disease alerts to be posted on the EDCC website. Importantly, the alert provides the status of the alert, which often indicates a quarantine has been established to prevent disease spread. This information helps the industry to continue events and lessens possible negative economic impacts.
All submissions are reviewed seven days a week to ensure accuracy and posted once received and confirmed. Anyone can sign up to receive email notifications when an alert is posted on the website. The same alert is posted on the EDCC Facebook page.
Providing accurate disease, biosecurity information and news on the EDCC website is made possible by the subject matter experts on the AAEP’s Infectious Disease Committee, which regularly reviews all disease and biose- curity information on the website. Links to AAEP guidelines for disease, biosecurity and vaccinations as well as to state veterinarian contact information and state reportable disease lists are also on the website.
Submitting a case or disease outbreak is easy through the Report a Disease link on the website. The information is stored in the EDCC database and is posted on the website alert pages and on the EDCC Facebook page. While state animal health officials submit a majority of the cases, AAEP members are encouraged to submit cases. This is particularly important when there is exposure to groups of horses and horses that are traveling. Members are also encouraged to submit photos of clinical signs to help educate owners about disease identification.
The EDCC is fulfilling its original mission and is continu- ously evolving with upgrades to its website, app and YouTube Channel (
https://www.youtube.com/@ EquineDiseaseCommCenter).
“The database now holds all the information from 2018 and eventually will be a resource for disease surveillance,” Dr. White said. “The website has a trove of disease and biosecurity information which is reviewed every three years for accuracy.”
Looking forward, Dr. White said the EDCC will continue to utilize the website to provide news and medical
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AAEP News July 2024 VII
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