Additional Horse at Maryland Farm Shows Signs of EHV-1

(edited from press release)

Facility managers who are handling a neurologic equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) incident at a Columbia, Md. horse stable (Columbia Horse Center, CHC; read archived stories) reported April 7 that an

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

(edited from press release)


Facility managers who are handling a neurologic equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) incident at a Columbia, Md. horse stable (Columbia Horse Center, CHC; read archived stories) reported April 7 that an additional horse was showing clinical signs similar to those displayed by the five previously reported cases. Three of those horses were euthanatized the week of March 22. The horse that began showing signs this week is located in the same barn as the others and is currently being treated. Two other horses in the same barn that had been showing signs of illness in past weeks were recovering well.


Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) officials said that they don’t believe the virus has moved beyond the single barn. It extended the hold order on the facility (that was put in place March 25) to restrict horses from coming on or off the facility for at least another 21 days. All other preventive measures will remain in place. 
 
Equine herpesvirus type-1 typically causes upper respiratory infection, but it can also cause neurological disease as it did in the CHC cases. There is currently no known method to reliably prevent the neurologic form of EHV-1 infection. It is recommended to maintain appropriate vaccination procedures in an attempt to reduce the incidence of the respiratory form of EHV-1 infection, which may help prevent the neurologic form.  Transmission of the virus can occur via coughing or sneezing over a distance of up to 35 feet as well as by direct contact with infected horses, feed, and equipment

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Stephanie L. Church, Editorial Director, grew up riding and caring for her family’s horses in Central Virginia and received a B.A. in journalism and equestrian studies from Averett University. She joined The Horse in 1999 and has led the editorial team since 2010. A 4-H and Pony Club graduate, she enjoys dressage, eventing, and trail riding with her former graded-stakes-winning Thoroughbred gelding, It Happened Again (“Happy”). Stephanie and Happy are based in Lexington, Kentucky.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
317 votes · 317 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!