Many of you may have heard of the Herpes viral outbreaks
in places such as Florida, California and New Jersey. Although
New York has had no reported cases associated with these
outbreaks, it is an important to know the cause and preventive
measures as we prepare for another busy show season. Herpes
virus, also known as rhinopneumonitis is present in the
majority of horses in a dormant form. Most of the time it
causes respiratory "flu" like symptoms, which
resolve with time. Equine Herpes virus 1 (EHV-1) has also
been known to cause abortions in pregnant mares. The current
EHV-1 neurological outbreak is most likely a mutation of
the "normal" virus. It is primarily spread by
nasal secretions and in experimental situations can be spread
as far as 35 feet from the affected horse. It can also be
spread by contaminated clothes, water buckets, shoes, trailers,
stalls or feed. As you can see, it can be difficult to try
to control exposure especially if you are showing. But that
does not mean you should not try to do so.
Ideally,
1. Wash the stalls with dilute Clorox (1 part Clorox:
10 parts water)
2. Limit nose to nose contact with other horses
3. Do not allow drinking from communal water troughs
4. Do not dip water buckets into communal water troughs
5. Do not allow others to pet your horse on the nose
There is currently no vaccine which has been shown to be
effective in studies to prevent the neurological form. Some
preliminary work has shown that the modified live vaccine
may be beneficial which is why LEVC switched to it last
year for our clients. If you choose to switch to the modified
live vaccine then a booster will need to be given 4 weeks
after the initial vaccine. Vaccination should be required
by all events to help lower shedding of the virus by carriers.
Over vaccination has been shown to increase the chances
of getting sick (as what happened in the Findlay outbreak).
We recommended vaccination ever 6 months as a result.
For additional information check out www.thehorse.com
