The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) announced June 12 that vesicular stomatitis (VS) has been detected in a horse in Ward County, approximately 30 miles north of Fort Stockton. This is the first case of VS in this county this year.

The two previously infected herds in Reeves and Pecos counties have been released from quarantine.

The TAHC has placed the newly identified premises in Ward County under quarantine, and affected horses will be monitored by regulatory personnel until all lesions have healed and the quarantine is released (a minimum of 14 days).

There is no known exposure to other horses around the state, or at any equine events, the TAHC said. It is believed that the virus overwinters in the sand and black fly population in northern Mexico and then moves north in warmer weather