Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Cases of Strangles in Waterloo-Wellington County

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) has received reports of several cases of equine Strangles (S. equi sp. equi infection) in the Waterloo-Wellington County area. Strangles is not a reportable disease in the province of Ontario, however, it is highly contagious to horses and other equids, and outbreaks are a concern to the […]

Eastern Equine Encephalitis Confirmed in Ontario

On August 16, 2013, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) was notified of a confirmed case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in one horse in Simcoe County. The 11-year-old gelding had an incomplete vaccination history and no history of travel outside the county. The horse exhibited acute onset of depression and fever, with some neurological […]

Potomac Horse Fever in Ontario

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food has become aware of two cases of Potomac Horse Fever (PHF) in Ontario as of early August 2013. Samples collected from an anorexic and febrile horse in Essex County confirmed that the horse was suffering from PHF. The horse subsequently died. A horse in the Ottawa area also […]

Long-Term Plan Coming for Ontario’s Horse Racing Industry

Ontario has asked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel to bring forward a long-term plan to implement recommendations from its final report. As transition funding negotiations with track operators are now substantially complete, the province has asked the panel for a plan that sets a clear path forward on: • modernizing the governance and regulation […]