There are no new clinical equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) cases among horses at the Columbia, Md. horse facility that has been handling an outbreak of the neurologic form of the virus since late March. In the past week, one horse that had been diagnosed with the virus more than a month ago had to be euthanatized. While the mare had been responding well to treatment, she took an unexpected turn for the worse. Private veterinarians, Maryland state animal health officials, and farm operators continue to work together to bring a close to the situation.

There remains no reason to believe that the virus has moved off of the farm and all preventative measures remain in place including a Maryland Department of Agriculture “hold order” prohibiting horses from moving on or off of the farm. Because the horse that was euthanatized this week had not been shedding virus for several weeks, state veterinary officials still expect to lift the hold order on June 10.

Updates will be available on line at www.mda.state.md.us/. Information about the case is available from MDA at www.mda.state.md.us/hot_topics/index.php