Eight horses at the University of California, Davis, (UC Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine’s Teaching Hospital have tested positive for equine influenza (EI).

On Wednesday, July 27, 2016, veterinarians evaluated a horse at the UC Davis veterinary hospital’s Large Animal Clinic for an elective surgical procedure. That horse was clinically normal over the weekend but developed a fever and cough. Veterinarians evaluated it for respiratory pathogens with a molecular test on Monday, August 1, and the horse tested positive for EI infection.

Veterinarians immediately moved the horse to the hospital’s isolation unit, which is a separate barn on the property removed from the main barn that houses hospitalized patients. This isolation unit has separate stalls, each with its own air space, and is staffed with separate personnel who don’t have contact with other hospitalized horses.   

Since then, veterinarians have tested every horse in the hospital daily, and a few horses in proximity to the index horse have also tested positive for EI. Those horses were also moved immediately to the isolation unit. Positive horses not needing additional medical treatment were allowed to be released to their owners if they had the proper home facilities to isolate them from other horses that might be on their property. Those still needing medical treatment will remain in the isolation unit until they are ready to return home safely