Vaccination Statistics and Reality: How Many Horses Are Really Vaccinated against Equine Influenza?

Standard schedules for equine influenza vaccinations have been published in Finland. However, no knowledge about the actual number of vaccinations has been available. Based on previous preliminary studies in slaughterhouses and among horse owners, it was suspected that vaccination recommendations are not always followed. The aims were to investigate vaccination status against equine influenza among Finnish racehorses in regional competitions. Vaccination status was investigated: (1) by utilizing database vaccination information of show jumping and dressage horses and (2) by carrying out a survey among horse industry experts. A total of 400 horses were selected at the beginning of the Finnish competition season in 2012 and five experts (key persons) were invited to a repeated survey implemented by Delphi techniques. Overall, 50%-100% of horses were properly vaccinated depending on the source available. Thirty-four percent (34%) of the horses had the competition license but no vaccination markings in the database. Differences between types of competition (show jumping and dressage) and between Southern and Northern parts of Finland were found. Vaccinations of show jumping horses were registered more often than vaccinations of dressage horses. Ninety percent (90%) of unvaccinated horses in the database were eight years or older. It can be concluded that equine influenza vaccination registry coverage among racehorses in Finland is incomplete. This poses a risk of misunderstanding, and the growing responsibility of competition organizers.