Deadly virus outbreak, imediatly stop touching any horse not your own.

OMG.....this is just one county away from me....infact three bordering counties.  Please read and spread the word FAST as you can spread it with your own hands by touching an infected horse or thier tack or buckets....and then bring it home to yours.  Be savvy and wash your hands and brushes and buckets, and quarantine your horses NOW.  There is NO cure or Vaccine for this.  This article was in our news paper yesterday morning.


Deadly virus sickens horses in Stanislaus County

By CAROL REITER

creiter@mercedsun-star.com

An outbreak of a highly contagious and possibly fatal virus in horses that started at a competition in Utah has claimed the life of at least one horse in California and one in Utah, and sickened at least four in Stanislaus County.

The equine herpes-1 infection showed up first at the National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championships, held in Ogden, Utah, from April 30 to May 8. One of the big money winners at the show, a 7-year-old horse, was diagnosed May 9 with the virus in Colorado. Of the 500 horses at the event, at least two were positive for the virus, and one died. Fifty-four of the competitors were from California.

Steve Lyle, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said one horse in California was euthanized at a cutting horse event May 13 in Bakersfield. The horse had been to the Utah event and had severe neurological signs.





At a Glance

Murieta Equestrian Center in Rancho Murieta has announced that all horse events there will be canceled through June 7 because of the outbreak. The center had events scheduled every weekend.

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"This is still all unfolding. There wasn't a confirmed case of this virus in California until Monday, and now we have 10," Lyle said Tuesday afternoon.

Four of those confirmed cases are from Stanislaus County. Dr. Carol Van Hoogmoed, a veterinarian at Monte Vista Equine Care in Turlock, said veterinarians at Taylor Veterinary Hospital in Turlock had treated at least one horse that tested positive for the virus. Horses in Kern, Placerville, Amador and Napa counties also tested positive.



Van Hoogmoed hasn't seen a case yet but believes there may be more horses that have been exposed to the virus that may come down with it.



And it can be deadly.



"There's a neurological form of the virus that can end up killing the horse," Van Hoogmoed said.



The virus is highly contagious and can spread quickly between horses or from contaminated feed, buckets or people's hands, Van Hoogmoed said.



The incubation period can range from two days to two weeks. One of the first signs is a horse will start running a fever. The horse also can have nasal discharge, a lack of coordination, hind-end weakness, inability to rise, lethargy and dribbling urine.



"There's no treatment for the virus, and there's no vaccine," Lyle said. Of the horses that come down with the neurological type of the virus, 30 percent will die.



In past years, cases showed up on the East Coast at horse race tracks. The horses were quickly quarantined, and the outbreaks were stopped.



But the Utah show had horses from 10 states competing, and when the show was over, the horses went home, possibly taking the virus with them.



The National Cutting Horse Association, which held the Utah event, said there are reports of cases not only in Colorado and California, but also in Washington, Oregon, Arizona and western Canada. The Washington Department of Agriculture has reported cases in Idaho and Utah.



The NCHA said its affiliates and other show producers in California, Montana, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico, Washington and Nevada have canceled shows scheduled for this weekend.



Lyle said California's borders haven't been closed because of the outbreak, but the CDFA is evaluating options that could be considered if the outbreak becomes more serious. All California horses that have been in contact with an infected horse and show signs of the disease or test positive for it will be placed under a CDFA quarantine, Lyle said.



More severe restrictions could be on the horizon.



"We could consider a ban on all horse shows in the state," Lyle said. "Some events have already been canceled, but we haven't done that yet. But we do have the right to do it."



California is working with other states, and is asking horse owners to be aware of the signs and symptoms of the virus.



"We're telling horse owners who were at the Utah event to be very vigilant, and catch this right away," Lyle said. "And isolate any horses that were at the Utah cutting."



Reporter Carol Reiter can be reached at creiter@mercedsun-star.com or (209) 385-2486.





Read more: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/05/18/1895405/deadly-virus-sickens-horses-in.html#ixzz1MiJBornu










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Another article from online The Record







Tue May 17 2011



Horses contract fatal virus at Utah competition













IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - Agriculture officials say horses in Canada and at least four Western states have contracted a fatal equine virus after attending a national competition in Utah.

An Idaho State Department of Agriculture spokeswoman told the Post Register that two cutting horses from Idaho have died from what appears to be Equine Herpes Virus-1.

So far, authorities believe it has infected horses in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, California and Canada. But Idaho state veterinarian Bill Barton says veterinarians across the country are being notified that animals in their states could be impacted as well.

Barton says the virus is easily spread because it can be airborne and transmitted by touch or through sharing brushes, bits or other equipment, but it doesn’t pose a risk to humans. Llamas and alpacas can also be infected.

The Associated Press