Evaluation of new protection against summer eczema
Summer eczema, or insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), is a severe chronic skin inflammation in horses caused by a hypersensitivity to the saliva of biting insects. The disease is common but unfortunately difficult to treat. In addition, the extent of suffering caused by the disease is still unknown.
Summer eczema, or insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), is a severe chronic skin inflammation in horses caused by a hypersensitivity to the saliva of biting insects. The disease is common but unfortunately difficult to treat. In addition, the extent of suffering caused by the disease is still unknown.
The efficacy of the insect repellent fragrance needs further study due to the loss of horses with summer eczema in the study, but the fragrance was shown to be harmless to both humans and animals and can safely be used as an environmentally friendly complementary protection to traditional prevention methods against gnat infestation.
The researchers recommend that horse owners give affected horses extra protection in the evenings, for example by keeping them indoors or using an eczema blanket in combination with insect repellents.
The study was funded by the Swedish Horse Research Foundation.
Link to this publication
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13081283
Reference
Söderroos D, Ignell R, Haubro Andersen P, Bergvall K, Riihimäki M. The Effect of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity on Movement Activity and Behaviour of the Horse. Animals. 2023; 13(8):1283.