AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS

also called equine plague, or perdesiekte viral disease of horses that is important in southern and equatorial Africa. It is transmitted by insects, especially Culicoides gnats, though dogs have contracted the disease by eating infected horsemeat. Symptoms occur within 10 days of viral invasion and include fever and localized fluid retention. Death may quickly occur from fluid-filled lungs, or the disease may assume a chronic form, ending in heart failure. There is no cure. Annual vaccination provides effective immunity.