Isabel Hurley

LATEST figures from the Irish Equine Centre reveal that over 100 horses and ponies nationwide have now died from sycamore seed poisoning.

Dr Ursula Fogarty of the I.E.C. released the updated figures yesterday to The Irish Field and warned people not to drop their guard as new cases are still emerging.

“There’s now been over 100 horse deaths nationwide from sycamore seed poisoning. It’s the worst outbreak by far that we’ve ever seen in this country. New cases are still coming in to us and people should be aware that where there is a high incidence of this in the autumn, it can follow on that there will be further cases emerging in the spring,” said Dr Fogarty.

The “helicopter’’ seeds from the sycamore trees contain a non-protein amino acid hypoglycin A that triggers Equine Atypical Myopathy (ATM), an often fatal muscular disease in horses and ponies that have ingested the seeds while grazing.

Veterinary surgeons who have dealt with cases were urged by Dr Fogarty to complete the relevant forms and send them back to the Irish Equine Centre.

“We need to gather as much information as possible on these cases and we are interested in hearing about people’s experience and anything they may have noticed at all about the trees or seeds on their land. We are also asking people – whether they have had a case or not – to collect seeds, dry them in a cool place and contact us as we are trying to build up the most complete picture we can of all the factors involved here, everyone’s observations are important in something like this,’’ said Dr Fogarty.

Two informative articles have now been posted on the IEC’s website at www.iec.ie on ATM.

“Back in 1973, Sir Leslie Fowder of University College London, Hilary Pratt and Peter Lee, did a lot of pioneering work on non-protein amino acids in plants and trees and this is what we are dealing with now in these horse death cases. Data collection and feedback from people is vital,’’ added Dr Fogarty.