Montana horse owners have watched as equine herpes has plagued other Western states and now they must fear for their own.
The Montana Department of Livestock announced Saturday that a horse in Gallatin County has contracted the disease EHV-1. The 13-year-old horse attended a cutting horse competition in Ogden, Utah, at the beginning of May where at least eight horses from Western states were infected with the oftentimes fatal disease.
The Gallatin County horse isn't showing any of the debilitative symptoms yet, so veterinarians may have caught it in time.
However, EHV-1 can have a wide range of symptoms, from a complete lack of clinical signs to fever, nasal discharge or more serious neurological symptoms, at which point it is characterized as equine herpes virus myeloencephalopathy.
A lack of coordination, hind-end weakness, lethargy, urine dribbling and diminished tail tone are frequent signs of myeloencephalopathy. Associated paralysis can lead to death.
The virus is easily spread through the air, by horse-to-horse contact and by contact with nasal secretions on equipment, tack, feed and other surfaces.
People can spread the virus to horses by means of contaminated hands, clothing, shoes and vehicles.
Many regional horse competitions have been postponed or cancelled because of the equine herpes outbreak.
For more information on the disease, go online to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/equine/ehv/
