Weekly Livestock-Equine News: August 31, 2026

CVS Equine (UK) introduces project to improve equine pain assessment

The newly launched CVS Equine Analgesia Project aims to increase the consistent use of validated pain scoring systems within equine hospitals, supporting improved recognition, monitoring and management of pain across a range of clinical conditions. The initiative follows findings from a CVS Equine internal clinical survey, which identified variation in analgesic approaches and highlighted that while pain scoring was already being used by some clinicians, it was not yet embedded as routine practice.

New case of BSE in Scotland could revive fears of mad cow disease

A case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) – often called mad cow disease – has been confirmed in a cow on a Scottish farm in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the first case of classical BSE to be reported in the country since 2024. The Scottish government said the animal had been destroyed and tests were being carried out to establish the cause. A BSE epidemic reached a peak in Scotland in 1992 and 1993, with an estimated 180,000 cattle affected and 4.4 million slaughtered.

UW-Madison gets green light to expand diagnostic lab in northwest Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has received state funding to expand and update its veterinary diagnostic lab in Barron, which primarily serves veterinarians and the poultry industry in northwestern Wisconsin. The new facility, expected to be completed in June 2029, will have a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) component, denoting it as a highly controlled workspace to study dangerous microbes.

Vets identify peak period for equine screening, vaccination

Vets from Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in the UK found seasonal and age-related peaks in seropositivity for Lawsonia intracellularis, the bacteria causing equine proliferative enteropathy. They examined 47 foals and found peak timing for seroconversion occurred between six and nine months of age and between September and January. The data can be used to inform screening and vaccination strategies, they said.

ECO signs licensing agreement for toxoplasmosis vaccine for sheep

UK-based ECO Animal Health Group plc announced it signed an exclusive license agreement with French biotech firm Vaxinano SAS for the latter’s late-stage sheep vaccine candidate against toxoplasmosis. The license will enable ECO to complete the development of and commercialize the vaccine candidate. Toxoplasmosis can cause significant economic losses through abortion, stillbirth and the birth of weak lambs.

MRV and PAdV are common in US swine herds, but not associated with severe clinical signs

Mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) and porcine adenovirus (PAdV) are common in U.S. swine populations, but co-infection does not appear to produce significantly more severe clinical disease, according to research funded by the Swine Health Information Center. That said, continued monitoring is necessary to determine when these viruses may contribute to disease and pork production losses in the field, such as when they are combined with other infections or management stressors.