Vets across the UK are being asked to help develop a national equine grass sickness (EGS) sample biobank and database. The Moredun Foundation Equine Grass Sickness Fund has launched a three-year fellowship to help develop multidisciplinary approaches to EGS research.
More than 100 years after the disease was first characterized in working farm horses, the causes remain elusive, but the consensus is that it’s likely to be multifactorial.
No treatments or vaccines are available to prevent disease, and about 80% of horses contracting the disease do not survive.
New research fellow Kathy Geyer started in February 2021, with one of her initial main objectives to set up a national database and sample biobank from EGS cases.
It is estimated more than 90% of all EGS cases are euthanized within the practice, and Dr. Geyer is reaching out to all veterinary practices throughout the UK who deal with EGS cases to assist in sample collection, both pre and postmortem.
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