An equine herpes virus outbreak has struck at Kennedy Meadows Resort and one horse is confirmed dead.
Resort owner Matt Bloom said the affected horses have been quarantined and that he is working with a team from University of California, Davis, Large Animal Clinic and Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
Of the 150 horses at Kennedy Meadows, six to eight tested positive for equine herpes virus, Bloom said. Although one has died, the rest are expected to recover, he said.An outbreak of the virus occurred earlier this year but many believed it had passed.
“Everyone thought it was pretty much gone,” Bloom said of the May and June outbreak, which stemmed from a Colorado horse event.
Bloom said he had no idea how it was brought to his high country resort but guesses it was probably from someone on a private horse over Labor Day weekend. The virus has a 10 to 14-day incubation period.
“Usually the first sign is a temperature,” said Raquelle Van Vleck, founder of ReHorse Rescue Ranch in Jamestown.
The virus can mimic symptoms of a respiratory infection or a number of other ailments, she said.
Kennedy Meadows isn’t closing and the infected horses will be quarantined and monitored closely, Bloom said.
He did say that while people can ride on the trails, it would be best to not bring horses around theirs for the time being.
There have been no new cases in three days, he said.
A Sonoma County facility was quarantined earlier this month because of equine herpes, though the cases are not directly related, according to the UC Davis Large Animal Clinic website.
The neurological form of EHV-1, known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy, has existed for centuries, but a strain of the virus has evolved in recent decades with virulence unlike what had been seen in the past, the UC Davis Equine Health Horse Report said.
There have been 22 confirmed cases of equine herpes in California, including one in Jackson in Amador County and one in Waterford in Stanislaus County.
Additional positive confirmed cases are in Colusa, Glenn, Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, and Ventura counties, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said.
Of the confirmed cases, 16 horses participated in the National Cutting Horse Association’s Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah, from April 30 to May 8, where all the infected horses had attended.
They were most likely exposed there, officials said.
One of the confirmed cases participated only in the Kern County Cutting Horse Event on May 13 in Bakersfield, the CDFA said.
There are also two confirmed cases in Colorado.
Over the next seven weeks, the virus sickened 90 horses in 10 states, 13 of which died or were euthanized, the UC Davis report said.
One horse in Kern County was euthanized after showing severe neurologic signs often associated with the disease, the state Food and Agriculture Department said.
In mid-May when the outbreak was first noted, veterinarians recommended people keep their horses home for two weeks.
Those who are concerned about horses who may have been in contact with the virus can take their horses temperature twice daily, Sonora veterinarian Dr. Casey DeCino said earlier this summer.
Area residents are taking the outbreak seriously and two upcoming horse events have been canceled by the Calaveras Saddle Club.
If a horse has a body temperature above 102 degrees Fahrenheit, owners are urged to contact their veterinarian.
Equine Herpes Virus-1 is contagious and may spread quickly among horse populations, the CDFA said.
It is not transferable to humans or other animals, officials said.
“Horse-to-horse contact, aerosol transmission, and contaminated hands, equipment, tack and feed all play a role in disease spread,” the state ag department statement said. “Horses infected with the neurologic strain of EHV-1, may show any of the following clinical signs: nasal discharge, lack of coordination, hind-end weakness, lethargy and diminished tail tone.”
All California horses that have been in contact with an infected horse, show signs of the disease or test positive for it, will be quarantined to prevent further transmission, the CDFA said.
