title: Freedom from equine infectious anaemia virus infection in Spanish Purebred horses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No cases of equine infectious anaemia (EIA) have been reported in Spain since 1983. Factors that could increase the risk of reintroducing equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) into Spain include the recent occurrence of the disease in Europe and the absence of compulsory serological testing before importation into Spain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Given the importance of the Spanish Purebred (SP) horse breeding industry in Spain, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to provide evidence of freedom from EIAV in SP stud farms in Central Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples from 555 SP horses, collected between September 2011 and November 2013, were tested using a commercially available EIAV ELISA with a published sensitivity of 100 per cent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 555 samples were negative for antibody to EIAV, providing evidence of a true EIAV seroprevalence between 0 per cent and 0.53 per cent (95% CIs of the sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA technique used Q10 were 100 per cent and 99.3 per cent, respectively) among the SP breeding population in Central Spain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings should serve to increase confidence when exporting SP horses to other countries.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria , Universidad Complutense , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria , Universidad Complutense , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fores
authors.affiliation: Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust , Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk , UK.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ireland
authors.affiliation: Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense , Madrid , Spain ; Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria , Universidad Complutense , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust , Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk , UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Newton
keywords: Disease surveillance; Epidemiology; Equine infectious anaemia; Horses