THE first outbreak of equine flu in Cumbria has been confirmed by animal health officials.

The Animal Health Trust say the horse affected was an unvaccinated non-Thoroughbred that had recently arrived on a private yard in the county following post-purchase movement from another part of the UK.

A report on AHT website said the horse had shown signs of mild fever, coughing and nasal discharge shortly after arriving and tested positive for EI by PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab on March 15.

The only other horse on the property, say AHT, was vaccinated and had so far shown no clinical signs of the disease.

Paragon Veterinary Practice, based in Dalston, near Carlisle, posted a message on their Facebook confirming the Equine Flu outbreak in the county.

Leading Paragon equine vet, Paul May said they would advise limiting horse travel if possible for the next few days until the scale of the outbreak in Cumbria can be determined.

"If your horse is going to or returning home from events, it is sensible to take their temperature daily," Mr May told the News & Star.

He added: "Horse owners should not panic. Just be vigilant. The majority of outbreak in recent weeks have been in unvaccinated horses, however minor signs of infection have been seen in vaccinated horses. We recommend that all horses are vaccinated as this is the best protection against flu, and will reduce the length and severity of the disease."

Some events and venues, said Mr May, now require six monthly vaccination."So it is important to check what they require from you for competing."

"EI is still popping up in various parts of the country, and there seems to be a new case every day, so if you have any concerns that your horse may have flu, or want further advice, please get in touch to speak to our equine vets," he added.

So far AHT have confirmed 50 positive outbreaks of equine flu in the country since January, with 10 so far in March, including the one in Cumbria.

The AHT spokesman said: "Vaccinated horses should have a level of protection to this new strain. If vaccinated horses are exposed to the virus, clinical signs should be milder and they should get better faster than an unvaccinated horse. This has been demonstrated in the vaccinated cases seen so far this year. We continue to emphasise the importance of vaccination in protecting horses against equine flu.

"Reassuringly, we can confirm that vaccines are providing a better degree of protection than was initially thought when disease outbreaks became apparent in Europe, especially when recent boosting has been implemented. We recommend that all horse owners revaccinate their horse if the booster vaccination was given more than six months ago.

"It is clear that this strain of the virus (Florida Clade 1 H3N8) is not going away and is taking advantage of any opportunity given to it to spread among our horse population. Collectively, we all need to do everything we can to minimise these opportunities."