Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) authorities were notified that vesicular stomatitis (VS) had been confirmed in two head of cattle in Starr County, Texas, on June 29. These cases bring the total number of VS-affected premises in Texas and New Mexico to 15. With the exception of two sites in Starr County, all of the cases involve horses.

“The two infected cattle are on separate quarantined premises in Starr County (about 225 miles south of San Antonio) and are the first confirmed cases in cattle in the United States since the l997 VS outbreak involving New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. The l998 outbreak involved only horses,” said Max Coats, DVM, deputy director for the TAHC’s Animal Health Programs.  
 
“On one of the premises in Starr County, one cow among a handful of cattle tested positive for VS, and no other susceptible animals are on the site. On the second premise, the owner has an infected cow and horse, and there are about 30 other head of cattle and several horses that, at this point, have no clinical signs of VS and they have tested negative for the disease,” he said.
 
Disease investigations are continuing