Thailand is aiming to be officially declared free of African Horse Sickness (AHS) by next year, a move that will benefit economic sectors including tourism, according to the Department of Livestock Development (DLD).
The last local AHS case was detected in September 2020, and the country has been free from the highly infectious disease for two full years, said Chaiwat Yotakon, the department’s acting director-general.
This qualifies the kingdom to be recognised as an AHS-free country by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), he said.
The last AHS outbreak occurred on March 27, 2020, infecting 610 horses in 17 provinces, 568 of which died, he said.
With stringent and effective containment measures applied, the outbreak was finally stamped out and the last case was recorded on Sept 10, 2020, he said.
No new case has been found ever since a surveillance programme for animal diseases was initiated, he said.
Ann-Susanne Munstermann, a WOAH adviser, is supervising local authorities as they prepare a supporting dossier to be submitted along with the application for the AHS-free status by the end of this year, Mr Chaiwat said.
WOAH approval for the status is expected sometime next year, he said.
AHS-free status will more or less serve as a passport for the transport of horses to and from Thailand, which will largely benefit the country’s horse trade, exports and races, he said.
Many people, from horse breeders to operators of horse-related businesses, will benefit, as more jobs will be created and income generated, Mr Chaiwat said.
The expected boom in these business sectors will also contribute to tourism promotion and eventually help spur the overall economy, he added.
