Five other Dixie Stampeded horses get equine herpes

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A total of six horses have been diagnosed with EHV1 from the Dixie Stampede herd.

The first horse, Sandy Jo, had to be euthanized over the weekend for getting the virus, known as equine herpes.

The virus spreads easily from horse to horse. It's transmitted through the air.

Now two American Paint, 2 American Quarter horses, and one Percheron also have the virus. They are now separated from the herd and being treated.

The Dixie Stampede says the prognosis for them is good and treatment at the University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center will continue.

The USDA has inspected Dixie Stampede and commended the facility on its disinfection and treatment protocol.

The symptoms to watch out for? Fever would come first, followed by wobbliness, muscle twitching, weakness, and inability to stand.
If your horse shows any of these you need to get it away from other horses, and get it checked out by a vet.

Dr. Dennis Geiser, the head of the UT Veterinary Center, said preventing the spread comes down to good hygiene.

"Keep them healthy, vaccinate them, deworm them, and just practice good hygiene on your farm, and especially when you go to horse shows and events. Not sharing buckets and brushes and other equipment that might get contaminated with secretions from another horse," he said.

Humans and other animals are not at risk for contracting equine herpes.

Posted by: Leslie Location: Tennessee on Sep 20, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Wow, we were other in Pigeon Forge this weekend, didnt know anything about it. Sorry to hear that a horse had to be put down. We went to the Dixie Stampede last year and watched a show. Great show and beautiful horses. So sad

View the original article here

Strain of Equine Herpes hits East Tennessee

A strain of Equine Herpes has plagued six horses in East Tennessee. (more) By: Cameron Crapps
Published: September 23, 2011 »  Comments | Post a Comment

An outbreak of Equine Herpes in East Tennessee is prompting local horse owners to take extra precautions. Earlier this week, veterinarians diagnosed five horses from the Dixie Stampede with the virus. That makes six cases at the Pigeon Forge show. Last week one horse was put down as a precaution after it was diagnosed with the virus.

Local riding stables and therapeutic horse stables say they haven’t seen the strain of herpes yet. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t taking major precautions to keep their stables clean.

Small Miracles Therapeutic Stables in Kingsport are upping the cleanliness of their facility, by posting signs and insisting people wear freshly laundered clothes and wash their hands and arms before entering the barn, or touching the horses.

Sherrie Russell with Small Miracles says, “We do not know the origination of the virus, we're just treating it as anybody could infect our horses. We're voluntarily not allowing a set of horses to go anywhere or other horses to come here. We just want to make sure you're wearing freshly laundered clothes. We have a sign there that all of our volunteers, students, and staff must wash their hands before they handle the horses."

WF Stables and Tours are doing the same thing, but tell me, there is no way to keep horses from contracting Equine Herpes 100 percent. A vaccination is the best preventive measure.

Patti Walters says they are supposed to be in a horse show in two weeks, “If we were having it this weekend we would have done like the Crumley House and canceled, just because it’s so close to home and just so new."

Both stables say they will close if any strain of the virus turns up outside of Pigeon Forge.

What experts don’t know is how the horses at the Dixie Stampede developed the virus. They are a closed herd, meaning no horses have come in, or gone out since January.

Horses can get it from other horses or from humans. Humans and other animals can not contract Equine Herpes.

ccrapps@11connects.com

View the original article here

Equine herpes concerns force cancellation of Limestone horse show

The horse show scheduled for Saturday at the Crumley House in Limestone, Tenn., has been canceled due to concerns over the recent outbreak of the EHV-1 virus.

University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center officials and local veterinarians are requesting that horses not be transported until the virus is contained.

A total of six horses have been diagnosed with EHV-1, all from a single location, according to the hospital. These cases have been confined to the Dixie Stampede Show in Pigeon Forge. The horses are under quarantine, and no new cases have been diagnosed at the center.

The show Limestone show has not yet been rescheduled.

For information, visit www.crumleyhouseridingclub.com.

View the original article here

Horse dies in high country equine herpes outbreak

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.

View the original article here

Symptoms Equine Herpes Virus Found in Idaho Horses

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture  is investigating what it's calling "a suspected outbreak" of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) within the state. 

Horses may have been exposed to the severe neurological form of EHV-1 at the NCHA Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah held April 30-May 8, 2011. Confirmed and suspected cases of the disease have also been reported in Utah, Colorado and several other states.

Two Idaho horses that traveled to the event have died and several others are currently under the care of veterinarians. 

State Veterinarian, Dr. Bill Barton is recommending horse owners incorporate strict movement controls or containment methods to prevent the spread of the disease.  "If you participated in this event, or have contact with horses that traveled to this event, you should notify your veterinarian and isolate and monitor these horses for a minimum of 21 days for clinical signs of the disease," he said.

Equine Herpes Virus is highly contagious among horses. Llamas and alpacas can also be affected but the virus poses no health threat to humans.

Symptoms may include a fever, nasal discharge, incoordination, hind-end weakness, lethargy, urine dribbling and diminished tail tone.  The virus is easily spread by airborne transmission, 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.  Currently there is no equine vaccine for protection against the neurological strain of the virus.

"I encourage owners to frequently monitor their horses and contact their veterinarian immediately should any symptoms of illness be detected," said Dr. Barton. 

EHV-1 is also a Notifiable Disease to the State Veterinarian in Idaho.   Anyone suspecting or confirming a case of EHV-1 should call (208) 332-8540 or (208) 332-8570 to report cases.

View the original article here

Utah equine herpes cases decline; horse events cleared - ABC 4

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Utah agriculture officials say the presence of the equine herpes virus in Utah horses has declined.

According to a release from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, horse owners should feel free to participate in rodeos, horse shows, parades and other horse events in the near future.

UDAF said that Utah veterinarians have seen no other cases of EHV-1 in horses that attended the National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championship in Ogden, Utah that ended May 8th.

State Veterinarian Dr. Bruce King says that enough time has passed for most horses that may have been exposed to the virus traced to the Ogden horse show to have developed the disease, and that horses that have shown symptoms of the disease will remain quarantined at their private facilities and closely monitored until it is clear the virus is no longer present.

UDAF officials encouraged owners to practice good biosecurity in reference to their horses to help protect the industry.

---Information from: UDAF.

View the original article here

Stressed show horses may spread equine herpes

Equine herpes, a highly contagious infection among horses that can be fatal, may spread when stressed out show horses come together for competitions, according to animal health experts.

That appears to have helped fuel the current equine herpes outbreak, which has killed at least 12 horses and sickened 72 others in 10 states so far. These states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

"Most adult horses are infected with the virus," Philip Johnson, a professor of equine internal medicine at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine, told Discovery News. "Like most herpes viruses — human and animal — infection leads to a life-long association between the virus and the host. In most healthy horses most of the time, the host's immune system prevents the virus from going active and being especially contagious."

Given "the right circumstances," however, he said "the virus can defeat the constraints of the host's immune system and go active."

NEWS: Domestication Led to Horse Coat Color

Such circumstances likely were in place at the National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championships held at the Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden, Utah, from April 29 to May 8. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this event resulted in 32 confirmed cases of equine herpes, with these horses later spreading the disease to other victims.

Johnson explained that while the virus can "go active in any horse at any time, it's very likely that the immune system has something to do with it. Congregated horses coming together to compete are stressed, adversely affecting the immune system's function."

Another factor is that the virus comes in two strains, with one strain more likely to cause neurological problems than the other. Symptoms can include a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, nasal discharge from the nostrils, unusual tiredness, weakness, leaning, urine dribbling, reduced tail tone, and a difficulty or inability to stand.

Direct horse-to-horse contact, breathing in the virus, contaminated hands of horse workers, and equipment, tack and food harboring the virus can all lead to transmission of the disease.

Bruce King, state veterinarian of Utah, shared that "EHV-1 (equine herpes) is not transmissible to people." But due to the "highly infectious" nature of this particular outbreak, numerous secondary cases in horses have occurred, leading to the "quarantine of the veterinary teaching hospitals in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Pullman, Washington."

King said "voluntary isolation" of infected horses is encouraged, "with a minimum of two temperatures taken and recorded per day on each horse."

Acting Arizona State Veterinarian John Hunt further recommends that "isolation and monitoring continue for 28 days after any clinical signs of disease are observed."

NEWS: Horses Never Forget Human Friends

Hunt agrees that the illness "poses no threat to humans," but Johnson said it could affect other animals, such as mules, donkeys, alpacas, llamas, giraffes and gazelles. So far, the latest outbreak seems to have only impacted horses.

Veterinarians may treat victims with anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-viral drugs and antibiotics for secondary infections. Slings and body padding could be required to help the horses stand up, while intravenous feeding and use of a urinary catheter may also provide additional medical support.

The disease has been documented for at least six decades, but it has resulted in a number of headline-generating outbreaks in recent years.

"It has been conjectured that horse owners subject their competitive horses to more intense confinement, more transport between shows, and stress and transport than they used to, making it easier for the activated virus to pass quickly between horses," Johnson said, adding that grouping "the horses more closely together in temporary housing at horse shows" could also facilitate spread of the disease.

Some vaccines provide protection against the less debilitating form of the virus, but they do not appear to protect against the neurological syndrome. Several virologists are now working on a vaccine that they hope will target this particularly virulent form of herpes.

© 2011 Discovery Channel

View the original article here