ALERT!
Update: February 2, 2007
Equine Herpes Virus (a.k.a. rhinopneumonitis / EHV-1)
Our office has spoken with the New York State Veterinary Office this afternoon and has substantiated that there has been one case of confirmed EHV-1 in Dutchess County, New York. This one horse and all other horses in its stable are under strict quarantine. There is no fence-to-fence contact possible at this barn, and the State of New York is not tracking other horses from that barn. Because of privacy issues, they would not say which town the barn was in, but they report that the barn is being extremely cooperative about the quarantine and following precautions.We again ask that you exercise good health practices where your horses are concerned and refer you to our previous article for websites which have excellent information—such as the link to the University of Florida.
Please contact us directly about any concerns you have about this or any other health related issues.
Thank you for wanting to protect your horses and we will strive to get you the latest, INFORMED, information to help us weigh your situations individually
Robert Orcutt, DVM
The following is an portion from The New York State Horse Council website www.nyshc.orgg “EHV-1 is in Dutchess County. Your vigilance is critical not only with watching out for clinical signs, but using the appropriate biosecurity measures as well.”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equine Herpes Virus (a.k.a. rhinopneumonitis / EHV-1)
Written By: Robert Orcutt DVM
Update: January 29, 2007
I have contacted the United States Federal Veterinary Office regarding rumors that horses in Massachusetts, specifically in our practice area, had been diagnosed with Equine Herpes Virus.
I spoke with the federal veterinarian who has been in close contact with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Veterinary Office. They report that there has been no known confirmed case of EHV in Massachusetts since the recent outbreak of neurologic EHV-1 cases in Florida in December 2006. The only confirmed cases in New England since that time have been one horse in the Fairfield Equine Hospital in Fairfield, Connecticut in December 2006 and several horses at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT earlier this month. Both locations instituted a quarantine of their premises, and no spread of the disease has been reported from either location.
When the disease was first recognized in Florida in a horse which had been imported from Europe, there was a very effective quarantine instituted which has successfully controlled the situation to the point that horses are now being allowed to re-enter the affected areas in Florida for equine competition. Investigators were able to track the movement of horses possibly exposed to the original cases, and horses were indeed located which went to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. All of these horses were tracked to their locations and followed closely for any indication of EHV-1 infection. None of the exposed horses were found to have developed the infection when they arrived in New England, and all of these horses continue to be normal several weeks later.
The rumors which have been spawned by the original outbreak have understandably exaggerated the gravity of the current situation. A few stables in Massachusetts have responded to the concerns generated by these rumors and have elected to impose a restriction on travel to and from their barns. Although these restrictions were not in fact caused by the actual presence of the virus in these stables, the rumor-mill soon converted these voluntary actions into reports that there were not only active cases but also deaths.
If changes occur regarding this situation, we will update this notice and contact the appropriate authorities to disseminate the information as quickly as possible.
You should contact our office if symptoms are being observed in your horse or a horse in your care. There are several excellent websites which provide detailed information regarding the nature of the disease and the appropriate measures to control an outbreak. I recommend the following websites:
www.faep.net Florida Association of Equine Practitioners
www.aaep.org American Association of Equine Practitioners
www.ca.uky.edu\gluck University of Kentucky, Gluck Center
and the following summaries in The Horse:
http://www.thehorse.com/TopicSearch/default.aspx?ID=81&nID=6&n=Equine%20Herpesvirus%20(EHV)&tag=1
Our office has been receiving frequent questions pertaining to the controversial issues of vaccinating and/or shipping horses regarding EHV-1.
We do recommend that all horses be vaccinated in stables especially where there is any prospect of shipping to other locations or horses being introduced from other locations. The affected Wellington, Florida area now requires that all horses moving into that area be vaccinated not less than five nor more than sixty days prior to their arrival. Current vaccines protect against the respiratory and abortigenic aspects of EHV infection but do not protect against the neurologic form of the disease. Proper vaccination will reduce the number of horses shedding the virus in the general population. This reduction in shedding is important because the only definite way to prevent neurologic EHV in your horse(s) is to avoid contact with horses who are shedding the virus. The only horses for whom vaccination is contraindicated are those who have recently been exposed to known neurologic EHV-1 cases.
We do not recommend a moratorium on transportation of horses. However, we recommend thorough investigation of circumstances at proposed destinations before shipment to competitions or other stabling. Conversely, equally diligent attention should be paid to new arrivals in your barns as regards the population of horses from which they have come.
Individual decisions on such matters have different implications depending on circumstances, and we urge you to contact us about any uncertainty you may have regarding your specific situations.
Robert Orcutt, D.V.M.