Clinicopathological Features Associated with the Outbreak of African Horse Sickness in Lagos, Nigeria

An outbreak of African horse sickness involving 17 horse stables in Lagos, Nigeria, was investigated from December 20 to February 21, 2007. The investigation revealed high and sudden mortality of 40 horses, affecting both the local and Argentine breeds from December 20, 2006 to January 30, 2007. The clinical and postmortem signs were predominantly circulatory and respiratory, as described elsewhere, and seldom digestive. Clinical and pathologic findings coupled with epidemiologic findings tentatively resulted in the diagnosis of African horse sickness, which was confirmed by complement fixation test and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.