The neurologic form of Equine Herpes virus (EHV-1) has been identified to be responsible for several deaths in
Wellington
,
Florida
. The origin of this herpes virus strain appears to be from a shipment of imported European horses coming thru the
New York
Import
Center
. Exposure of other horses, in several states, has occurred as animals from this center were sent to several parts of the country.
At present, all of the horses from this shipment and the horses that were exposed to them have been identified and voluntarily quarantined.
Be aware that the State of Florida, horse owners and organizers in Florida and all equine veterinarians within Florida take this problem very seriously and are working together in unison to eliminate this concern to our horse industry as rapidly as possible.
We are all fully aware of the importance of our state to the national horse population at this time of year. As such, great emphasis is being placed on complete co-operation to eradicate this threat promptly.
Unfortunately, this strain of equine herpes virus can linger for up to 21 days from last exposure. Therefore, voluntary quarantines will not be lifted until 21 days after the time of a confirmed case diagnosis.
As this situation has been so well handled, I would expect the
Wellington
show circuit to go on unhindered after approximately the middle of January.
At this time there are two other suspect cases (Ocala & Jupiter) that are also under voluntary quarantine as they are linked to this original exposure. Both of these horses are well isolated and every measure to control any spread of this disease are being taken.
I advise any horse owner traveling to the state of
Florida
in the near future to consider herpes (Rhino) vaccination 14 to 28 days prior to their transport. Vaccination immediately prior to transport is not advised, nor will it be of value as approximately two weeks is required from time of vaccination to provide any real protection. Note that no serious protection against the neurologic strain can be credited to any rhino vaccine. However, it may be better than no vaccination at all if given well in advance of shipment.
Once again, be aware that
Florida
officials, veterinarians and horse professionals and event organizers are all taking this problem very seriously.
There is absolutely no reason to believe, at this time, that more horses will be affected or that a breach in any of the quarantine procedures will result in more cases.
For local horse owners, several basic common sense concepts should be observed:
- ALL horses arriving at your facilities should have their temperatures taken twice daily and temperatures over 101.5 F should be reported to your regular veterinarian. I recommend this on ANY shipment as there are numerous other reasons, during shipment, for a horse to become ill. Monitoring temperatures is the best way to catch these concerns early.
- Isolating horses that ship in to your facility by at least 35 feet from resident horses can stop the spread of this concern provided no cross contamination between facilities occurs.
- This virus can be carried on warm surfaces (like your hands or other body parts) for some time. Similarly, it can live on cold surfaces (like brushes and pitch forks) for several hours. Basic cleaning and disinfecting procedures (soap & water followed by diluted bleaching) can easily control the spread of this virus.
- Remember that horse’s from north of Florida are not the current concern, but horses traveling out of quarantined regions of Florida should be considered suspect, as a precaution. Obviously, at present, transport of horses even close to these affected areas has been voluntarily stopped to minimize any concern of inadvertent virus spreading.
Here are two links to related stories from The Horse
Neurologic Concerns Originated in
New York
Import
Center
from
Europe
and Traveled.
Florida
Neurologic Outbreak
For the most up to date information on confirmed case locations, please consult:
www.FAEP.net
