Lethal Virus Is Officially Contained

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced in a public statement posted on their website this morning that the lethal strain of EHV-1, known as Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy or EHM, has been contained. 

The outbreak occurred after horses were exposed to the disease at an event that took place in Ogden, UT.  The outbreak spread across the Western United States with 22 cases reported in California.

“I want to thank California’s horse owners and veterinarians for their prompt and thorough actions to isolate and monitor exposed animals and contain this outbreak of EHV-1,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Whiteford. “We also owe the success of this project in part to the outstanding isolation biosecurity measures implemented by horse facility managers, show/event managers and other professionals who work with and care for horses.”

According to the CDFA, containment is based on the fact that California has gone more than 14 days from the last clinical case onset date without a confirmed clinical case of EHV-1.

In Chatsworth, the annual ETI Corral 54 trail trials and poker ride were cancelled due to the outbreak.  Corral 54 President Mary Kaufman told Chatsworth Patch, “I’m so glad the virus is contained.  Everyone on the Corral 54 board was very concerned about the well-being of our horses and wanted to make sure we did our part to stop the virus from spreading.”

Horseowners are warned to remain vigilant as there is always risk of disease when horses of unknown health status are brought together at one location, such as a horse show or other event.  By practicing basic biosecurity measures consistently, horseowners can reduce their animal’s risk of exposure the virus.

The CDFA advises that disease risk can be minimized by implementing the biosecurity measures below:

• Minimize horse nose-to-nose contact with horses of unknown disease status.
• Don’t share equipment including buckets, tack and grooming equipment.
• Avoid using communal water troughs.
• Fill water buckets directly from the faucet to eliminate potential hose contamination.
• Limit human contact between horses or wash hands or use hand sanitizer between horse contacts.
• Prior to returning home from an event, clean and disinfect all equipment, including trailer, clothing, tack grooming supplies.
• Isolate all new horses or horses returning home for a minimum of three weeks. Isolation means no direct contact with other horses or humans and no indirect contact via shared equipment.
• Consult your veterinarian to establish appropriate vaccination for your horse.