Equid Blog : Horse Health & Diseases : University of Guelph : Ontario Veterinary College : Equine Infectious Diseases

EquIDblog is an equine infectious disease and infection control educational endeavor of the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph. It is coordinated by Drs. Scott Weese and Maureen Anderson, who are large animal internal medicine specialists with expertise in infectious diseases and infection control.

The focus of this site is infectious diseases of horses. Infectious diseases are very important in equine medicine. The average horse owner commonly encounters infectious disease questions and problems, ranging from decisions regarding vaccination and deworming to serious illnesses in their horses. The goal is to provide balanced, evidence-based information about various equine infectious diseases, along with practical information regarding infectious disease prevention and control, all of which are written and reviewed by experts in the field. This information spans infection control on horse farms and in equine hospitals, and is directed towards horse owners as well as veterinarians.

A unique aspect of the equIDblog website is publication of infectious disease rates at the Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital (OVCTH). This type of disclosure is now becoming common in human hospitals.  We are voluntarily disclosing our hospital’s case rates of Salmonella and MRSA, two of the pathogens of primary concern in equine hospitals, in order to maintain transparency with respect to hospital-associated infections.  It is hoped that this will also increase awareness and discussion within the equine and veterinary communities about hospital-associated infections and infection control.