The current AHS vaccine shortage 

SA’s major problem with a country wide shortage for a deadly disease 

If you haven’t heard already, the South African equestrian community is facing a country wide vaccine shortage for African Horse Sickness. This is a giant problem facing equine breeders, yards, owners, riders and of course the animals we love. It is also affecting people from all walks of life. To find out exactly what is going on, we had a chat with members of the equine community as well as Dr Karen Bohme from Bayard’s Equine Veterinarians, Lucinda Harman the chairperson of KEROA, and Lins Rautenbach.

What is AHS (African Horse Sickness) and how does it affect our beloved equine partners?

AHS is a viral disease that primarily affects horses, donkeys, and mules in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is caused by a virus belonging to the genus Orbivirus, which is transmitted to equids (members of the horse family) by biting midges of the Culicoides species. The virus can cause a range of symptoms, which can vary in severity depending on the strain of the virus and the health of the animal. In nearly all cases the disease is fatal, with mortality rates reaching up to 95% in horses. Once a horse is infected with AHS, there is unfortunately no cure, and treatment mainly consists of supportive care to relieve symptoms and improve the horse’s chances. However, AHS can be prevented through insect control, quarantine, and monitoring, which are all key in reducing the risk of infection and spread of the disease. But the most important weapon in the fight against AHS is vaccination.

What is the AHS vaccine?

The vaccine for AHS works by stimulating the horse’s immune system to produce antibodies against the virus that causes the disease. The vaccine contains inactivated or modified live virus particles that are not capable of causing disease but can train the immune system to produce a protective response. When a horse is vaccinated against AHS, its immune system recognizes the viral components in the vaccine and produces specific antibodies to neutralize the virus. These antibodies can then help protect the horse against future exposure to the virus, reducing the risk of infection or disease. (For more information on the virus you can read our AHS article). With such an impressive tool at our disposal, it would be easy to think that there is little concern, but in South Africa there is a severe problem regarding the AHS vaccine.

What is the problem regarding the vaccine?

According to every member of the equine community we spoke to, South Africa has far less supply of the vaccine than what it needs. The shortage is so severe that some horse-riding yards have reported being only able to get 6-10 shots of the vaccine when they need 160. The shortage affects people from every walk of life, from racehorse owners to rural subsistence farmers. These subsistence farmers, who rely on their animals to help with farming are arguably being impacted the worst.

The shortage of vaccines does not only have a massive impact for horse owners, but also an economic impact on the equine industry. When a horse dies from AHS we must think about the actual value of the horse and the job losses that occur. The average sport horse employs a number of people, including a groom, a coach, show venue staff, feed merchants, an equine physio and chiropractor, a farrier, a vet, equine insurance companies, and of course people at the training yards. We must also think of the emotional impact on the horse owners, as well as the damage done to the careers of professional riders. 

What has caused the shortage of vaccines?

The AHS vaccine, which covers the strains found in South Africa, is the intellectual property of a state-owned entity (SOE) in South Africa called OBP (Onderstepoort Biological Products). OBP is a parastatal, not to be confused with the Onderstepoort veterinary hospital, and they remain the sole manufacturer of AHS vaccine. As with several other SOEs in South Africa it has failed in its service delivery. The AHS vaccine shortage crisis has been worsening over many years. Community members have blamed failing equipment, financial mismanagement, load shedding, as well as the sale of vaccines to Thailand, all of which has decimated the supply of stock that the country desperately needs. We cannot import vaccines as it is ‘live’ and strains from other countries won’t work in South Africa. The result is far too little local manufacturing and zero imports.

How is OBP failing to deliver?

Despite assurances from OBP, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Animal Health Forum, many horse owners remain unconvinced that the issue will be resolved. According to many in the industry, OBP has been unable to meet the demand for vaccines by being unable to produce enough shots of the vaccine. A solution to this would be to privatize production of the vaccine, which would greatly increase production capacity. Private companies have already expressed their interest in assisting with production, but OBP has reportedly refused to allow privatization.

At the time of writing OBP has failed to respond to requests for comment.

Many owners are experiencing back orders from 2022, leading to late vaccinations, and there is a lack of confidence in government’s understanding of the severity of the issue. Additionally, the financial burden of testing and reporting AHS falls on the horse owners, despite it being a notifiable disease.

While OPB, the Department of Agriculture and the National Animal Health Forum are doing their best to assure us all that they are now back on track, most horse owners are not convinced. We have been misled too many times. Government does not appear to have a proper understanding of just how bad the situation really is. Opening production of AHS vaccines to the private sector is the only real short- and long-term solution.

Financial implications of AHS on horse owners

Owners are compelled by law to report AHS to their state vet, yet despite this being a notifiable disease, the cost of testing to confirm AHS remains the responsibility of the owner. Testing costs start at around R2,000. Most owners, especially rural owners, do not have these funds on hand. Without testing there is no case in the eyes of the government meaning that many cases go unreported. Treating a horse is equally expensive. The Hewetson protocol shows promise for increased survival, but costs roughly R10,000. 

There is also the potential impact on our ability to import and export horses through an AHS free zone, which can only be maintained if we can demonstrate adequate vaccination in the infected zone(s). This makes exporting horses virtually impossible. 

Aside from that, there is also an impact in the form of charity or therapy horses/ponies (involved in therapy for the disabled, psychological treatment, old age homes, hospitals and hospice).

There is nobody within the equine community who has remained untouched. With the number of horse deaths in rural communities being truly shocking, the most devastating casualties have been those who rely on their horses to generate income to feed their families.

Long-term consequences of the vaccine shortage

The long-term consequences of the shortage will be an overall reduction in herd immunity. Every year that a horse is not vaccinated its immunity decreases. Horse owners may get away with this for a year or two, but then we will see a much higher percentage of non-immune horses, resulting in a huge rise in deaths. Furthermore, imports and exports will be stopped and the horse industry will die off. 

What is being done to help overcome the problem?

There are some alternative preventative measures that are recommended; however, they are no substitute for the vaccine. Horse owners are urged to use insect repellents, install fans in the stables, avoid riding in the late afternoon and bring horses in from the paddock early.

There are initiatives and partnerships in place to increase the production and availably of the AHS vaccines. KEROA, the residents association of Kyalami, has been at the forefront of the fight. The greater Kyalami area is often credited with having the most horses per capita in Southern Africa. Lucinda Harman (Chairperson of KEROA with the portfolio for health on the Ward 94 committee) felt it was right practice to do all she could to fight on behalf of the equestrian community not only in Kyalami, but for the whole of South Africa. Together with DA Ward Councillor David Foley, KEROA was connected to the DA Shadow Minister, Noko Masipa. A team was formed and got Noko’s original petition up and running again and gained the support of 11,000 signatures which meant that Noko could take this to parliament. 

KEROA also contacted Carte Blanche to tackle the story and expose the matter. 

In addition to KEROA and Shadow Minister Noko’s efforts, there is an equine vaccine task team, AHS vet group, South African Thoroughbred association as well as SAAI pushing the matter. Lins Rautenbach is one of the members who on the ground, gathering stories and footage to contribute to the campaign and working to resolve the problem for all equestrians. 

The facts of the current shortage remain the same, it is simply that the government-run OBP cannot keep up with the demand and will not allow the privatisation of vaccine production. This is resulting in the death of thousands of horses. There are those fighting hard to change this and hopefully soon, by working together, we can all make a change for the sake of the owners, riders, farmers and families, and of course, the wonderful animals we love who are at the mercy of a terrible disease that could much more easily be fought if it wasn’t for government’s incompetence.