Resumeq: A Novel Way of Monitoring Equine Diseases Through the Centralization of Necropsy Data

The French surveillance network for causes of equine mortality (Resumeq) was created in 2015 for the qualitative surveillance of equine mortality through the centralization in a national database of necropsy data and their subsequent epidemiological analysis. It was designed to identify the causes of equine mortality, monitor their evolution over time and space, and detect emerging diseases as early as possible. Resumeq is an event-based surveillance system involving various players and structures. It is organized around a steering body, a scientific and technical support committee and a coordination unit. Different tools have been developed specifically for Resumeq. These include standardized necropsy protocols, a thesaurus for the anatomopathological terms and the causes of equine death, and an interactive web application so that network contributors can display data analysis results. The four French veterinary schools, seventeen veterinary laboratories, and ten veterinary clinics already contribute to the production and centralization of standardized data. To date, the data from around 1,000 equine necropsies have been centralized. While most deaths were located in western France, the geographic coverage is gradually improving. Data analysis allows the main causes of death to be ranked and major threats identified on a local, regional or national level. Initial results demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of this national surveillance tool. Moreover, in the future, this surveillance could take an international dimension if several countries decided to jointly capitalize on their necropsy data.