Introduction
Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia (EIA), also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus (Equine infectious anemia virus) and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus (EIAV) is endemic in the Americas, parts of Europe, the Middle and Far East, Russia, and South Africa. The virus is a lentivirus, like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Like HIV, EIA can be transmitted through blood, milk, and body secretions. Transmission is primarily through biting flies, such as the horse-fly and deer-fly.