NOTICE: Phase II National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Equine 2015 Study

This May, the USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) will launch the second phase of its Equine 2015-2016 study, NAHMS third national study of the U.S. equine industry.

The second phase of the study was postponed because of last year’s highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak, which led to the largest response to an animal disease emergency in U.S. history. The response required the USDA to temporarily reassign personnel that had been tasked with collecting data for phase 2 of the study. These personnel are now available to collect the data.

As with NAHMS’ 1998 and 2005 equine studies, Equine 2015-2016 was designed to provide participants, industry, and animal-health officials with information on the nation’s equine population that will serve as a basis for education, service, and research related to equine health and management, while providing the industry with new and valuable information regarding trends in the industry for 1998, 2005 and 2015-2016.

Seven study objectives were identified:

• Describe trends in equine care and health management for study years 1998, 2005, and 2015.
• Estimate the occurrence of owner-reported lameness and describe practices associated with the management of lameness.
• Describe health and management practices associated with important equine infectious diseases.
• Describe animal health related costs of equine ownership.
• Evaluate control practices for gastrointestinal parasites.
• Evaluate equines for presence of ticks and describe tick-control practices used on equine operations.
• Collect equine sera along with equine demographic information in order to create a serum bank for future studies.

For operations that agreed to participate in phase 2 of the study, data collection will begin May of this year and continue through September 30. Representatives from USDA’s Veterinary Services will administer the phase 2 questionnaire, perform a facility biosecurity assessment, collect equine blood and fecal samples, perform a tick exam of equine on the operation, and collect tick specimens. To detect anthelmintic resistance in their equine, operations participating in phase 2 have the option of collecting fecal samples to be tested for internal parasites, if the operations did not have the same testing done during phase 1.

For additional information on this topic, contact Joelle Hayden at (301) 851-4040 or e-mail: Joelle.r.Hayden@aphis.usda.gov; or contact Dr. Josie Traub-Dargatz at (970)494-7000 or email: Josie.Traub-Dargatz@aphis.usda.gov. 
 

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