 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
California Riding Magazine • February, 2012 EHV-1 Virus by Kim F. Miller |
The EHV-1 virus reared its ugly head in mid-January. The first case was confirmed on Jan. 11 and by Jan. 20, there were 11 confirmed cases, all of them in horses at the Rancho Sierra Vista Equestrian Center in Orange County's San Juan Capistrano. On Jan. 18, one of the earliest-diagnosed horses was euthanized, although results of a necropsy that would have confirmed this as an EHV-1 related mortality were not ready at presstime. The horse had a fever, swelling in his limbs and was lying down. He also had other issues that contributed to the decision to put him down, one source reported. As mainstream news reported the spread of the "fatal equine disease," management and horse owners at the 350-horse-plus facility went about the business of implementing state-mandated quarantine, isolating the confirmed cases, and taking bio security measures to prevent further spread of the virus. Owners and stable staff watched for early signs of EHM: fever, uncoordination, lying down, dribbling urine, hindquarter weakness and nasal discharge. Rancho Sierra Vista owner and manager Patty Harris relayed that boarders were remaining calm and following the recommended procedures. Per the quarantine, horses were not allowed to leave or enter the premises and those in which the virus was detected were isolated. CDFA Department of Animal Health representative Dr. Kent Fowler spoke with approximately 100 concerned horse owners at the facility on Thurs. Jan. 19. Although some said the worst part of the outbreak was the rumors about what was going on, San Juan Capistrano area horse owners definitely faced a scary situation when the virus appeared in a horse-dense area that includes Rancho Sierra Vista's close neighbor stables, Sycamore Trails and Rio Vista, plus the Shea Center Therapeutic Riding Center. EHV-1 is a highly contagious virus, spread through direct contact and through airborne transmission when an infected horse sneezes or coughs. Those are the obvious methods of transmission. Less obvious methods are preventable but require all horse handlers to carefully re-think their everyday routines. The virus, Fowler explained, can be carried in dirt on boots, people and horse clothes and tack and other equipment. The CDFA's website has terrific tips for enacting bio security measures. These include disinfectant footbaths for use going in and out of stalls to kill any dirt-borne virus, changing clothes between working with one horse and another and not sharing tack or equipment between horses. "It's all common sense, but it does require people to do things differently than they are used to." The measures would be easier to enact if all infected horses demonstrated symptoms, but that's not the case. "It can be latent in a horse for years without any signs, although we think that is rare," Fowler explained. That reality increases the importance of bio-security measures that can be tough to implement in a large public stable. At the very least, Dr. Fowler added, "Work with the healthy horse first, then tend to the sick horse." Horses are considered exposed to EHV-1 if they've come in contact with a confirmed case within the previous 14 days. The stable quarantine will continue for 21 days after the cessation of clinical signs of EHM in the last confirmed case. Fowler says the virus typically runs its course in 10 days. Regardless of what animals and/or illnesses are involved, the CDFA has a policy of not releasing the names of facilities where such outbreaks occur. The concern is that facility owners would be less willing to cooperate for fear of their facility being blamed. Fowler emphasizes that "there's nobody to blame" for this EHV-1 outbreak. "It's very rare, even with all our epidemiology, that we ever find out who the 'Typhoid Mary' was. Everybody wants to lay blame or point a finger, but it's very difficult to pin down where this comes from." The Orange County occurrence should hopefully be easier to contain than the EHV-1 outbreak in May of 2011, Fowler says. That's because, at least as of press time, all the confirmed cases are located in one place. Last year, 54 California horses were exposed to the virus at a show in Utah then returned home to 14 different premises in 12 counties, greatly increasing the number of potentially exposed horses. A bright side to last year's outbreak was that horse owners seemed better educated and calmer this time around. "General knowledge among horse people is considerably better than it was a year ago," said Fowler after his Jan. 18 visit to San Juan Capistrano. "But there are still a lot of misconceptions and misinformation out there, I think a lot of it based on the rumors going around." "Don't buy into those," Fowler concluded. "Go to the CDFA's website. We are updating it daily and that's where you'll get the facts."
|
