President and Founder: Robert J. Tashjian, V.M.D. | West Boylston, MA 01583 | avmf@vetfrontiers.org | (508) 835-6258 | Fax: (508) 835-4021
Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA)
Bucky was a 40+ year-old gelding that had lived at Malden Brook Farm in West Boylston, Massachusetts since 1984. In 1984 Bucky was diagnosed with Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) at nearby Fort Deven's U.S. Army Base. Bucky's fate would have been euthanasia had Dr. Robert J. Tashjian not brought him to join a herd of 20 EIA-negative offspring of EIA-positive parentage. These 20 were the only horses still alive that were rescued from the New York City Animal Medical Center-Duke Farms EIA program.
Bucky had always remained asymptomatic, i.e., no clinical signs of the disease. Bucky lived a healthy, happy life for over two decades with an EIA diagnosis, passing away in recent years in his mid 40's!
Unfortunately Bucky was condemned to a life of confinement in his later years, due to current state and federal regulations, and sadly died in quarantine. Along with Bucky, other EIA positive horses resided on Malden Brook Farm. These horses lived in a quarantined area on the farm, separated from the herd of negative horses that also live on the farm.
In the past, Malden Brook Farm was able to offer conditions that no other EIA research program in the country could offer, by allowing EIA positive horses to live in a social environment. We still offer a free-roaming, natural environment within a veterinary medical center facility. But now the regulations require housing EIA-positive horses in a quarantine area. Although no EIA-positive horses reside on the farm at this time, currently we have over 40 EIA-negative horses that had lived with the positive horses in the past.
EIA Vaccine
American Veterinary Medical Frontiers, Inc. spearheaded introduction into the United States of an EIA vaccine that was developed in China. The vaccine is currently stored at an approved USDA facility. This research project is a collaborative effort of AVMF and the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in China (HVRI), which developed the vaccine. Through an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and HVRI, AVMF possesses doses of the Chinese EIA vaccine, the original EIA strain from which the vaccine was developed, and other biologics related to this vaccine development.
In developing vaccines to fight retroviral diseases, including the Chinese EIA vaccine, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of protective immunity, replication and attenuation. The development of this vaccine includes all these mechanisms.
AVMF is the only research facility in the U.S.to possess the Chinese Live Attentuated EIA vaccine. This vaccine offers significant hope for preventing or finding effective treatment for EIA and other retroviruses. In 1983, when Dr. Tashjian began cooperating with the Chinese research teams, the emphasis was on developing the vaccine as an animal model for AIDS. The Chinese scientists are very optimistic that this new vaccine technology may answer many of the difficult questions confronting AIDS researchers. Our research has the possibility of propelling AIDS researchers toward a better understanding of the dynamics of AIDS.
Learn more about the AVMF-HVRI Agreement.
How EIA Research Can Help Humans
An EIA-vaccinated horse at HVRI in China. This was part of an AVMF program in China before the Chinese EIA vaccine was sent to AVMF in the United States.
Since 1984, EIA has been an internationally recognized animal model for human HIV/AIDS. EIA has many similarities to HIV/AIDS, including modes of transmission, pathology, immunology and molecular biology.
The close similarities between EIA and AIDS can enable researchers to develop a better understanding of retroviruses and their strains. Compared with a human study, the use of a naturally occurring animal model allows for a closer and more complete study of the diseases. Unfortunately, there is presently very little hope for the actually-ill patient. Therefore, sound management and knowledge of the disease is essential for controlling such a severe and international health problems.
Currently, EIA-positive horses throughout the world are being slaughtered or quarantined. This is a tragic, ineffective waste! However, the Chinese Live Attenuated EIA vaccine can prevent contracting the disease in horses. This vaccine offers new hope in developing a better understanding and treatment for retroviruses, including EIA and HIV.
Dr.Tashjian conducted pioneering work on the transmission of EIA. He found that the disease is transmitted in the blood through insects and other vectors, semen and milk. These findings have withstood the test of time. Dr.Tashjian, with the assistance of a dedicated, veterinary staff, studied over 100 horses at Duke Farms, Somerville, NJ. At that time, EIA had broken out in epidemic levels in parts of that state.
Kill and bury the scientific data in order to continue with legalized test and slaughter. These are photos of "Prince." He lived for about 20 years with EIA asymptomatically and in healthy condition. The photo at left is of Prince on the farm prior to having to be confined, living in peace and tranquility. The middle photo is of him tragically after being euthanized in September 2010. State regulations required the he be heartlessly destroyed. Prince was put onto the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) trailer. At the same time, another EIA-positive horse was euthanized in the barn with much thrashing and struggling (photo at right). A beautiful stallion, Prince was the mascot for many years of AVMF and the EIA research.
The MDAR sought the same fate for "Nora." Though we took legal action to resolve her case and save her life, unfortunately MDAR seized and euthanized her on November 17, 2010. The MDAR staff forcefully broke through Nora’s padlocked stall door. Though Nora always tested negative on the official Coggins and ELISA tests, she showed reactions on the unofficial immunoblot test. This result could have been due to protective antibodies. She was also negative on the PCR test for antigen.
Though results of the official tests are always negative, the MDAR has now established a precedent for killing horses based on an unofficial, questionable antibody test. Could this unjustified fate befall any of America's horses that test EIA-negative with the official tests?
The MDAR began its systematic killing program in 2001. Prince and Nora lived in the quarantine barn for many years. Prince sired a foal that also lived in the barn for about two years, EIA-negative, before MDAR also killed him. Then Prince was killed. And now Nora. Tragically, this family was very important for the natural immunity to EIA.
Left, Nora in August 2010. Right, box stall #3, where Nora was forced to be quarantined due to current regulations, even though Nora was negative on both official EIA tests.
Unfortunately, we lack sufficient financial resources to continue our studies. Consequently, raising funds is our urgent priority. Future studies into EIA – especially transmission – and the progress the Chinese have achieved in vaccine development make finding new treatments for HIV/AIDS a closer reality.
Recent policies promulgated by Massachusetts officials – which allow such injustice and ignore animal welfare – have met with widespread public outcry. It is grossly unfair and simply wrong to simply destroy animals that have lived a natural and normal life and can benefit current and future generations of both animals and humans.
Press releases and support:
- Groundbreaking Horse in Retroviral Research Slated to Be Killed, Press Release, September 20, 2010, prepared by Dr. Gregory Ciottone, Chair, Disaster Medicine Section, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and VP, AVMF.
- Uniformitarianism, Press Release, by Dr. Roger Lloyd, a member of the Board of Trustees of AVMF.
Our Research and Development Plan
AVMF is the only facility in the United States that possesses the Chinese EIA vaccine. AVMF conducts research only on naturally occurring diseases and not artificially induced diseases. However, virtually every attempt to conduct further vital research has been seriously stymied by the State of Massachusetts, which accepts test, quarantine and slaughter as the only accepted treatment of EIA.
Society allows AIDS sufferers to live among the disease-free population, but state and federal regulations require destroying horses with EIA or placing them in permanent quarantine. By common standards of decency, this practice is shamefully unfair and inhumane. These animals hold the promise for helping scientists find better treatments of AIDS, one of our most daunting diseases.
Instead, the future of any horse that tests positive for EIA remains slaughter at the hands of government. We at AVMF need to continue our vital research on the Chinese EIA vaccine here in the U.S. This has been shown to be an effective vaccine.
AVMF is prepared to begin immediately the next phase of our breakthrough research, but we need public and economic support from animal lovers. The outcome may be of benefit to horses and reduction of the transmission and spread of human AIDS. These studies are also planned to develop creative scientific methods for dealing with pandemics.
Please help. You can help spread the word about our work. We urgently need financial support. To donate, please go to our Contact Us page, where you can make a secure online contribution. All donations are tax deductible. Donors will be added to our Development Committee by states. We need and encourage national and world support and participation.
Other Research
Botulism
For more than 20 years, AVMF has also been conducting research on naturally occurring botulism in agricultural and other soils. Our first experience with this disease occurred during the construction of Interstate I-190. This highway crosses through swamps and wetlands along an eight-mile corridor in West Boylston and the neighboring towns of Sterling and Holden.
During the construction, more than 100 animals died, mostly cows, due to a botulism infection. Apparently, the botulinum toxin was released from spores that were blown out of the ground during blasting. These very resistant spores can remain dormant for over a century in the soil without releasing the deadly toxin. Agricultural land with past use as pig farms and garbage disposal seems to be prone to this problem.
This scenario is of great concern if the affected land, especially in wetlands and aquifer lands, is changed from agricultural use to subdivisions and other commercial purposes. AVMF is conducting a comprehensive scientific evaluation of this problem, which can have serious consequences for both human and animal health.
Research
Study of Naturally Occurring and Emerging Diseases
