Document type : article published on theAnseswebsite.
Preview: The health of horses raises particular issues, as they are mainly bred for leisure, sport and competition. Monitoring and detection of many infectious equine diseases is required to enable animals to participate in competition and to breed.
The Anses is a reference laboratory for equine diseases at both French national and European level. It also acts as an international reference laboratory for two diseases affecting horses: dourine and glanders.
France has more than one million equidae according to the French Horse and Riding Institute, the second highest total in Europe. More than for any other animal species, good health in horses is of major economic importance: the equine sector has an annual turnover of more than ten billion euros, two thirds of which is associated with racing (source, Ifce,2019 figures). In competitive fields, the detection and monitoring of a number of diseases is mandatory for horses to be allowed to compete, breed or travel abroad.
