LEXINGTON, KY - For the 28th consecutive year, the global insurance firm Lloyd's of London has awarded a grant to the University of Kentucky's Department of Veterinary Science.
This year's grant of $45,000 funds production of The Equine Disease Quarterly. Devoted to research in equine health, this scientific journal is produced by the Department of Veterinary Science at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center.
This recent grant and those from previous years total almost $900,000 that the department has received from the venerable insurer. Given Lloyd's of London's more than 300 years in the business of insuring horses, including some of the most valuable in the world, the partnership is a good match.
"Lloyd's is very pleased to continue its long-standing support of the university's crucial work in equine research," said Julian Lloyd, chairman of Lloyd's Livestock Committee and head bloodstock underwriter at Hiscox.
Lloyd continued, "The distribution growth and reputation of The Equine Disease Quarterly is testament to this tradition of excellence."
The co-editors of The Equine Disease Quarterly are Veterinary Science faculty members Drs. Peter Timoney, Roberta Dwyer, and Neil Williams. Dwyer said that the journal, started in 1992, was "a joint idea between [Lloyd's] local people in Frankfort, Dr. David Powell, our equine extension veterinarian, and myself. We had no way to transmit information about new technologies available [to treat and prevent equine diseases]."
The journal is modeled on the report of disease outbreaks in people, which is published by the Center for Disease Control. Where that publication receives information from the states' departments of health, The Equine Disease Quarterly includes statistics and information from the International Collating Centre in Newmarket, England and other sources.
Recalling that the journal's first edition was 250 copies, Dwyer said that "its expansion has been dramatic."
The Equine Disease Quarterly is read by more than 18,000 people in 93 countries. Available on the internet, its articles are often reprinted as abstracts in a number of other equine publications, scientific and lay, worldwide.
"This success is a clear testament of The Equine Disease Quarterly's value within the equine industry," said Patrick Talley, President of Lloyd's Kentucky.
Talley added that his firm's support of the Department of Veterinary Science and the journal "establishes worldwide Lloyd's dedication and commitment to the equine community."
Printed on beige heavy stock paper, the journal has a traditional appearance, but its articles are cutting edge. Reports of equine disease outbreaks around the world give horse owners and veterinarians a quick summary of the state of equine health. Other articles focus on research on individual diseases or provide details about the discovery, course, and end of a particular disease outbreak.
An example of the latter is the report about Eastern Equine Encephalitis that occurred in the fall of 2008 in Quebec, Canada. In the previous 35 years, only two cases of EEE had been reported, so local horses weren't routinely vaccinated against it. At year's end there were 16 confirmed cases and three presumed cases in horses plus a flock of emus.
Because birds harbor the EEE virus and cases of EEE were found in the northeastern United States, bird migration may have spread the infection northward. Another possible explanation is infected mosquitoes carried into Canada by hurricane-induced air currents on the East Coast.
Because horses travel, for breeding, racing, and showing, the health of horses in one country can have a far reaching effect on others. The horses themselves don't even have to travel to carry disease, if they are participating in breeding by artificial insemination. Natural disasters can also increase the spread of equine diseases.
While the journal discusses ongoing research for the future, its articles stress disease prevention for now. Included are practical tips, such as keeping broodmares and foals away from show horses that travel and isolating new horses or those who are suddenly ill from the rest of the herd.
With support from Lloyd's of London, the Department of Veterinary Science at the Gluck Center is providing real help to horse owners and veterinarians all over the world through this excellent publication.
To read the current and past issues of The Equine Disease Quarterly see www.ca.uky.edu/gluck/index.htm.