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Published Date: 2011-06-18 11:53:13
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Equine herpesvirus, equine - North America (08)
Archive Number: 20110618.1859

EQUINE HERPESVIRUS, EQUINE - NORTH AMERICA (08)
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Date: Wed 15 Jun 2011
Source: DVM 360 [edited]
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+Equine/Montana-reports-first-equine-herpes-virus-case-fro/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/727229?contextCategoryId=378

While veterinary officials say the equine herpes virus (EHV-1)
outbreak from a Utah cutting horse competition is on the decline,
Montana confirmed its 1st primary case on 11 Jun 2011.

"We have a non-clinical EHV-1 positive case associated with the
National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Western National
Championships in Ogden, Utah, 30 Apr - 8 May 2011," says Dr. Marty
Zaluski, Montana's state veterinarian. "Fortunately, this horse not
only remains healthy, but has been separated from other horses since
returning from Ogden."

The horse, a 13-year-old gelding, was exposed to the virus at the
NCHA event, according to Montana livestock officials. The horse has
been isolated from other horses on the premises since returning to its
home. The horse has also been routinely tested by its owners.

Just days before the case in Montana was confirmed, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) released a report touting that the outbreak was on the
decline. In that same week, only 3 new secondary or tertiary cases had
been confirmed, APHIS reports.

As of 8 Jun 2011, there were a total of 88 confirmed cases of
EHV-1/equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). EHV-1 primary
exposures totaled 32, and EHM primary cases totaled 26, compared to 23
EHV-1 secondary cases and 7 EHM secondary cases.

In a related event, Washington State University's Veterinary Teaching
Hospital, which closed its doors to non-emergency equine cases in
order to prevent the spread of the virus, resumed normal operations.
"Reopening is slightly ahead of schedule because there have been no
new cases of EHV-1 in Washington for more than 2 weeks," the
university reports. The WSU veterinary hospital underwent a
sterilization process that included disinfecting everything from the
floors to the ceilings and everything else between. "Stall mats were
removed as were any porous surfaces on doors or dividers," the
veterinary school reports. The effort required a crew of 15, including
10 temporary hires. As an added precaution, WSU says it will institute
a new screening process for each referral or private admission
patient. The hospital will rank each patient according to its risk for
developing active disease from an EHV-1 infection.

--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED- mail
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[The 8 Jun 2011 edition of The Horse (see ProMED-mail archive no.
20110609.1750) reported that as of that date there were 94 reported
cases of EHV-1 in horses in 3 provinces in Canada and 11 states in the
USA. Now, there is one additional state -- Montana. Not all of these
equine animals infected with EHV-1 showed clinical signs, including
the above cases in Montana. With horse owners and veterinarians taking
precautions to prevent transmission, one hopes that this outbreak has
ended.

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map sowing Montana in the USA can
be accessed at
http://healthmap.org/r/00VV - Mod.TY]

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