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EHV-1 Confirmed in Barrel Horse That was at the Clovis, Calif. and Springville, Calif. PRCA Rodeos

by ProRodeo.com | May 02, 2014

Please be advised that the PRCA has learned from the California Department of Food and Agriculture confirmation of a barrel horse with EHV-1 that competed at the Clovis, Calif. Rodeo then was taken to the Springville, Calif. Rodeo last weekend. See the Update from the Calif. Dept of Food and Ag below. This is for your information so you can take extra precautions. The most common way for this virus to spread is horse to horse contact but it can spread via equipment, facilities or people’s hands or clothing.

Rodeo Committees with upcoming rodeos should limit contact with timed event horses and bucking horses, limit co-mingling of horses by posting signs on fences asking contestants not to tie their horses and limit nose to nose contact due to the recent disease confirmation, print out the update below and post and have copies available at the secretary’s office and other precautions that you may deem necessary.

Additional information to include in a handout to contestants would be:

If you had your horse at either the Clovis, Calif. or Springville, Calif. Rodeos, contact your veterinarian for advice, take their horses temperature twice daily and report any temperature over 102 degrees to a veterinarian and to keep those horses away from other horses at events and back at their home stable for a minimum of 14 days but up to 21 days.

While this horse has shown a low viral load it is definitely time to put some extra steps into place to protect rodeo livestock by taking extra bio-security precautions  for both horse owners and rodeo committees.

Here is the link to the California Department of Food and Ag’s webpage with updates and resources, please call them with any questions.  There is a wonderful biosecurity manual for events on this page that has an abundance of good information.  Additionally on this page you will find resources for horse owners.

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/animal_health/equine_herpes_virus.html

May 1 Update from CDFA:

May 1, 2014:  No additional cases. The Quarter Horse mare confirmed positive for the non-neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1 is displaying mild neurological signs uncharacteristic of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), specifically vestibular signs, abnormal prehension, and hypermetria of the right front for limb.  Additionally, the positive laboratory test results indicated the mare had an extremely low viral load on nasal swab which indicated a low level of viral shedding from this infected horse. Based on the low viral load and atypical clinical signs, it is possible that EHV-1 is not the cause of disease in this horse.  Out of an abundance of caution, the horse has been classified as case of EHM by CDFA and remains isolated under quarantine.  The epidemiologic investigation reveals this barrel racing mare did participate in the Clovis Rodeo on Friday, April 25, 2014 and immediately following her run was shipped out to the Springville Rodeo where she did not compete. Concerned owners of horses which participated in these events can monitor their horses for clinical signs and take temperatures twice daily. Any temperature over 102F should be reported to a veterinarian for investigation.  At this time there is no epidemiologic link to other EHV-1 positive horses recently detected in other states. CDFA continues to monitor the situation.

Courtesy of PRCA

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