King Ranch was the origin of an outbreak of deadly horse disease

King Ranch is the epicenter of a monthslong outbreak of a deadly horse disease rarely seen in the United States that kills as many as 20 percent that it infects. As of Jan. 20, 364 cases of equine piroplasmosis had been confirmed. Of those, 289 are on King Ranch. The rest are scattered across Texas, Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin, according to the World Animal Health Information System. A South Texas ranch, identified by the Texas Animal Health Commission as the outbreak’s source, has sold horses with equine piroplasmosis in 15 states since 2004. Jack Hunt, the CEO of King Ranch, confirmed the outbreak started on the ranch. Horses, donkeys, mules and zebras are susceptible to the disease, which is caused by two parasitic organisms. More severely affected animals can have fever, anemia, jaundiced mucous membranes, swollen abdomens and labored breathing. “It will kill a horse,” said Mike Vickers, a Brooks County veterinarian and commissioner on the Texas Animal Health Commission. “It’s very, very serious.”...read more