The number of samples tested for equine herpesvirus (EHV) at the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) rose in 2006 from an average of less than 1,000 tests per year to about 3,500 last year.

Neil Williams, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP, associate professor at the University of Kentucky and a boarded veterinary pathologist at the LDDC, said there are a few other laboratories in the country testing for EHV, including ones at Cornell University, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Davis.

With the number of outbreaks of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) across the country in 2006, and with the discovery of more EHV-1-positive horses in 2007, testing for the virus has become a more standard procedure for horses with fevers of unknown origin or ataxic (incoordinated) horses. This is putting pressure on laboratories to perform more of these tests.

The LDDC can test for five different types of herpesvirus, including the neurologic strain using the PCR test developed by George Allen, PhD, a professor of veterinary science at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center