Vesicular stomatitis (VS), a disease with international implications for animal movement because symptoms mimic those of foot and mouth disease, was confirmed May 19 in western Texas. In response to that announcement, Kentucky Department of Agriculture officials banned the import of Texas horses and other livestock until 30 days after the final case confirmation.

Horses, cattle, pigs, and occasionally sheep, goats, and deer are affected by VS, which causes blisters to form in the animal’s mouth, on teats, or along the coronary band of hooves. These blisters result in excessive salivation, lameness, or oozing sores. VS clinical signs can generate considerable concern because they mimic those of the highly contagious foot and mouth disease, which hasn’t been found in this country since 1929. Lab tests can differentiate between the two diseases. Unlike foot and mouth disease, VS can affect horses.

A safe, effective vaccine against VS is not currently available in the United States.

According to Max Coats, DVM, deputy director for Animal Health Programs for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency, VS was confirmed in three horses on a ranch in Reeves County in western Texas that houses nine horses and nine steers. The disease was initially detected on May 10. The source of the disease is unknown–there was no history of recent herd additions or exposure to other animals, according to information from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service