APPEAL FOR AHS CASE DATA 
From Denise Nisbet of AHS African Horse Sickness – the Equine Challenge
Admins of the group are in the process of contacting the owners of every AHS case that we have been made aware of this season. We will be working on collecting and verifying data. Please can we ask horse owners to share the following link with owners of horses that may have had AHS this season, and that we may not be aware of. The form is simple – and only take 5mins to fill out.

Feedback from our research will be shared on The AHS Equine Challenge forums. Your help would be most appreciated

RACING SA – LATEST NEWS ON SA HORSE EXPORTS

Kenilworth Quarantine Station – 25 APRIL 2012 – STATUS REPORT:

Mamre outbreak – 12 months freedom on 3 May 2012

http://www.racingsouthafrica.co.za/view_page.aspx?ID=188

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SA HORSE EXPORT LAWS CAUSING FRUSTRATION
“Red tape slows down fast horses”

What does he mean by this …. “Some owners and trainers have decided to bite the bullet and jump through the bureaucratic hoops to get their horses running and breeding overseas”??

RIDE IN RED – SATURDAY 5th MAY 2012 – WAS A SUCCESS FOR AHS AWARENESS

Horse Owners all over SA and even other countries were riding in RED on Saturday 5th May to show their support for creating awareness and ‘demanding a better vaccine’ and control of the dreaded disease AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS … and to put a strong message out to the entire Equine World to take note of what is happening in SA and other African countries, stay up to date and learn about AHS !

GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINKS on Neigh-Bours website as well as the
AHS African Horse Sickness -The Equine Challenge ‘Ride in Red’ FB site – to see FANTASTIC PHOTOS OF SUPPORT !!

Click https://www.facebook.com/events/145936088869806/ for more info

Winning photo of Anschen Conradie with her horse Deleray
by Renette Kleinhans

Barry Armitage and Joe Dawson from The Ride supports Ride in Red for AHS Awareness Day
Click https://www.facebook.com/events/145936088869806/for more info

5th May 2012 – Support Ride in Red for AHS Awareness Day!https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151060782414447.559106.154924549446&type=1

Settlers Horse Trails and Grahamstown Equestrian Centre’s riders in Grahamstown riding in support of AHS awareness. With Jessica Ann Van’t Hof, Anschen Conradie, Claire Faddel and Rudi Gomgat Van Vuuren.

Ride in RED for AHS – Saturday at Everywhere around the world.

PLEASE HELP RAISE AWARENESS OF AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS

Maya and her horse Hidalgo – by Colleen Williams 

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RED HALTERS and BITLESS BRIDLES TO SUPPORT AHS INITIATIVES

From Sonya Grobler

Rope Halters by Sonya will donate R 10 for every RED Halter with lead combination including postage @ R 150.00 and RED Bitless Bridle with reins and postage @ R 250.00 towards the AHS initiative to support both AHS equi-link Research Assistance & Surveillance Project and AHS African Horse Sickness – the equine challenge – your support will make a difference

AHS equi-link says a big thank you to Sonya Grobler for making this offer !!

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Ride in Red – AHS Awareness
Some words by Rene Truter Wessels

“STOP bullshitting – vaccines are not effective”
Support AHS awareness 5 May 2012
RIDE IN RED – AHS Awareness Day – JOIN us – from where ever you are – on the 5th of May to help raise awareness of AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS! AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS “AHS” is a deadly virus horses in South Africa contract. The vaccine is not 100% effective and once horses get the disease, there is no cure. Horses need to fight off the virus themselves. Over 1000 horses have died between 2011 and 2012 in South Africa. African horse sickness (AHS) is an infectious but non-contagious, insect-borne viral disease affecting all species of equids. It is transmitted in the field by at least two species of Culicoides.
By: Rene Truter Wessels
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FANTASTIC to see such support for the Ride and Red Day gathered at such short notice - only about one week – and looking through the special album created it is just so awesome to see the reaction, support and caring amongst horse owners from far and wide!! Thanks to all of you who made the effort and now that some attention has been gained - let’s keep the ball rolling and keep standing to together with ONE BIG VOICE !!

Lego got dressed up too, next year I will ride him (don’t know who is going to take photos?!) – Renette Kleinhans

PLEASE HELP WITH INPUT
Calling ALL horses owners who have been effected by AHS !!

WE NEED AHS REPORTS FROM HORSE OWNERS who have lost horses to AHS despite having been vaccinated against the disease with the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) ‘official’ AHS vaccine …. which we are also ‘legally obliged’ to use every year in an attempt to protect our horses and ‘control AHS’.

The news that Anette Steyn (Shadow Minister of Agriculture) from the DA is investigating what is being done by OVI-ARC (Onderstepoort Veterinary Institutre – Arigricultural Research Council) OBP (Onderstepoort Biological Products) and DAFF (Dept of Agriculture) in South Africa, to control diseases such as AHS, is something horse owners are enormously grateful for – especially considering the devastating number of deaths last year (2011 figures on AHS Trust website show under 1000 but it is estimated to be only one third of actual numbers, due to under-reporting). Outbreaks occurred all over the country last year – including an outbreak in the ‘well protected’ Western Cape Control Zone (again!). Worst of all is that the majority of horse owners in SA are living in fear due to the increasing reports of vaccinated horses getting sick and dying while nothing seems to be done about this totally unacceptable situation.

AHS equi-link are in touch with the DA regarding these investigations and highlighting as many issues as possible, on behalf of horse owners, about the way AHS is dealt with in our country, the problems we are faced with, reporting systems in a shambles and how the vast majority of horse owners feel completely ‘left in the dark’. After many years of horse owners submitting reports to state vets and the AHS Trust – there has been absolutely no feedback at all on any research done with these many thousands of Case Studies! 

This is our chance to finally make our voices heard so please spread the word to all your equine friends – we need to be able to present solid facts in a way which will have enough impact. There needs to be way more pressure put on the Government to meet our demands for a new ‘effective’ AHS vaccine as a matter of extreme urgency! Horse owners need to help, join forces and take action in realizing that nobody else is going to make the difference except us!

Both the number of horses and their value in our country is completely unknown and results in grossly under-estimated figures being quoted (thumb sucks). The only way we can begin to change the perception of ‘horses being play things for the rich’ is by DOING SOMETHIG to prove them wrong! This means an Equine Count and Economic Impact Study and I have no doubt the results of such a study, if done correctly, will astound everyone! Apart from the Economic Value of what is spent in this industry, job creation is of huge importance and also needs to be highlighted.

ADDED THREAT
Not having adequate protection against AHS – also at a time when the Game Farm Industry is ‘exploding’ in it’s growth -we are dealing with the added threat of thousands of zebra being moved around the country (estimated 3000 to 4000 per year now) with no regard to the risk it poses to horses in the areas they are moved to. Zebra are only tested for AHS before being moved into the WC Export Control Zone. This is highly likely to be the cause of a number of AHS outbreaks popping up in new areas – many remote places which had been AHS free for decades.

PLEASE E-MAIL REPORTS on AHS Cases, as well as submitting any other letters of complaint you may have about AHS in general – to:
Kathy Wiles
AHS Research Assistance and Surveillance Project
e-mail: info@ahsequilink.co.za
Tel: (044) 877 1825
Cell: 072 511 6093

HORSE OWNERS LOOK OUT FOR THE MAY ISSUE OF HQ MAGAZINE

In the latest (May 2012) issue of HQ Magazine, there is an excellent, very informative article on Zebra and AHS, written by top AHS expert Entomologist Rudy Meiswinkel. All Horse Owners, Game Farmers and anyone interested in the significant connection between the growing movement of zebra and ‘control’ of AHS in South Africa, would get good knowledge from this article, written by a professional who was involved for many years with research in SA

Attached are two graphs – one with explanations pointing out different ENSO conditions, and the other just displaying the data.  Below is a brief explanation of what ENSO is, and what we were looking for in doing the graph:

*El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a cyclic phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific region which has been shown to influence weather patterns across the world, including the eastern part of southern Africa. ENSO consists of two phases:  El Niño, which typically brings us hot & dry conditions (normal to below normal rainfall), and La Niña, which usually bring us cool and wet conditions (normal to above normal rainfall).  ENSO is marked by changes in the atmosphere and in the ocean.  In the ocean, a change in sea-surface temperature below -0.5 degrees Celsius over a period of at least three months indicates the presence of a La Niña, whilst the presence of sea-surface temperatures above 0.5 degrees Celsius over three months or more indicates the presence of an El Niño. Where the sea-surface temperatures remain between -0.5 and 0.5 degrees Celsius, ENSO is said to have transitioned into neutral conditions.  Using two axes, the graph above is meant to look if there is a correlation between ENSO and AHS outbreaks.

Using AHS statistics from the African Horse Sickness Trust website, and ENSO 3-month averages for the same period, the occurrence of severe outbreaks could be compared against which phase of ENSO was present.*

Thank you to Bernadine Altenroxel for creating these interesting graphs and giving us such valuable input. 

South Africa:   AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS Vaccine News …
Government Vaccines Must Be Subject to Independent Oversight

http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=10552

Newsroom – DA
www.da.org.za 

LATEST PRESS RELEASE – Sunday 22 April 2012

Annette Steyn MP
DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

What is the state trying to hide at Onderstepoort Biological Products?

22 April 2012
Release: immediate

This week, I was denied access to Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP),
the state-run institute with the mandate to ‘prevent and control animal
diseases that impact food security, human health and livelihood’.

I was denied access, despite having organised the visit in advance. During
the course of this month, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been publicising
the deficiency of state-produced vaccines for a number of animal diseases,
including Rift Valley Fever and African Horse Sickness.

As affected agricultural businesses are reportedly lodging complaints with
OBP following the deaths of thousands of livestock and seeking compensation
for the financial losses incurred as a result, one has to wonder what OBP is
trying to hide.

When OBP turned me away, I called on the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson to assist. I then received a call from
Director General (DG), Langa Zita, who said that he would help by making
arrangements.

On Thursday morning I phoned the DG’s office again, but was directed to OBP
directly. I was told by OBP that I must organise the meeting through the
Chairperson of the portfolio committee for Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, Mlungisi Johnson. This is the same excuse that was given when my
colleague, Pieter van Dalen MP, tried to arrange a meeting with Sue
Middleton, the DDG of Fisheries. Apparently there is some ‘protocol’ that
must be adhered to, the details of which we are yet to be enlightened about.

OBP was meant to brief the portfolio committee at a meeting on Tuesday last
week. The meeting was postponed, because the Chairperson was unable to
attend and wanted to be present at the meeting.

I wrote to the Minister last week to call for steps to be taken to ensure
that OBP vaccines are subjected to testing by an independent oversight body
such as the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). She has not responded.

We have also requested an investigation by the National Consumer Commission
into potential breaches of the Consumer Protection Act (2008) by OBP with
respect to vaccines produced to combat Rift Valley Fever and African Horse
Sickness.

OBP effectively has a monopoly on the production of vaccines. Their net cash
inflow from operating activities in 2011 was R51 642 089, and their
operating profit was R20 675 931. Farmers are paying a lot of money for
deficient vaccines. Vaccines are the most important line of defence in
preventing and controlling disease outbreaks. Farmers are currently
vaccinating without confidence, and OBP seem intent on maintaining their
monopoly in this lucrative industry at all costs.

The threat that this poses to the success of South Africa’s rural economy
creates a substantial risk to food security and job creation.

South Africa’s rural communities cannot pay the price for ineffective state
institutions. The Minister remains silent. This does not inspire confidence
that government is dedicated to serving its citizens.

Media enquiries:
Annette Steyn MP
DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
083 323 0027
Cameron Arendse
Media Officer
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UPDATE 28 APRIL – Results of Parliamentary Meeting and answer given
http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20120424-consideration-strategic-plans?utm_source=Drupal&amp%3Butm_medium=email&amp%3Butm_campaign=Free+Alertsaht

PREVIOUS PRESS RELEASE – 11 April 2012