This is the link I started with.

This is rolling across facebook right now. There is a mutated rhino/herpesvirus that's hitting hard and dropping horses like flies. Have you heard anything about it?

http://www.idahocha.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/EHV-1-Alert-14May2011-ISDA.pdf

I've had more updates since though.

Oh no..

Yeah, I know.

I lost a horse to West Nile, shortly before they started pushing the vaccine for it.

So don't want to see something else. And I don't take my horses anywhere, short of a yearly Coggin's at the vets.

How is it passed?

Contact and Aerosol, the latter being the most dangerous attacking their lungs!

http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/news/pr/2011/2011May_EHV1NationalInvestigation.pdf

Is the outbreak in the vicinity of where you are? It may be localized to a specific area and you may not need to "worry" exactly.

Sometimes these "New discoveries" are very localized and can be contained quickly. Now the thing that confuses me is how a rinovirus could kill a horse instead of making it miserable like us. BUT horses can contract herpies (usually from humans who have it doing you know what to horses, that is a medical fact) and it affects them just the same. It is rare when a disease can cross species but when it does the effects can be utterly unpredictable. Avian Flu can kill humans but only elderly and very young or immune deficient people. It does kill Birds though and it also can kill reptiles. AIDS? Dogs are immune to it. Cats are not. Horses are. Reptiles cannot contract it at all. But why is it that dogs can't contract AIDS but cats can?

Disease is a tricky thing to understand but fear is not going to do you any good. I would say understand the disease and how it is transmitted and where it is. For example if it is in Georgia and you are in Montana and there is not a lot of animal traffic between the two states the chances of it getting there are pretty small. Now say you ship horses back and forth from Georgia and the disease was discovered there, then you got all the reason in the world to be concerned and likewise you would have to have a quarantine procedure to insure infected animals do not infect your herds! Likewise if you are in the area of the disease you should look into prevention method. Immunization is not practical when there is no immunization available. But knowing what transmits the disease and reducing any potential exposure to the vectors is a good example of what can be done in a situation like that.

What have you found out about the condition in the first place???

This isn't like an Anthrax epidemic is it?

It's not an epidemic yet! Texas claims one confirmed case but that horse was actually from New Mexico & treated at a Texas clinic! Appears there was an outbreak at a cutting horse event in Idaho earlier this month.

Fear will not help...education will!

So is there a vaccine that works or did the horse recover on its own but in Quarantine?

The one in Texas of course...

the latest I've heard is that if you keep your horses at home and don't allow any proximity with infected horses, it will run its course and your horse will likely be safe. I am keeping mine at home until further notice. The best news is that it it isn't carried by 3rd party vectors, like mosquitos.

Andy - Herpes virus is not just an STD. Chicken pox and shingles, the common cold, are all herpes viruses. Animals can get it without interspecies sex with humans. When we first got Chance, he went in to a round of wart type things around his face. The vet said it was a form of herpes, and basically called it horse acne, a one time thing and it would clear on its own, which it did.

Its in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas (because of New Mexico), Utah, Idaho, Washington, Alberta Canada, and British Columbia.

I live near several horse farms, and even though mine technically wouldn't be mingling with those horses, its certainly a concern.

Looks like some horses has recovered, and others have been put down. No working vaccine yet.

Thanks for the article Firefly! And yes Artlo, the horses aren't going anywhere!

Redding CA has the #1 horse hospital in the United States. I had a college friend who was interning there when I attended Shasta College. They actually had a horse arrive that had genital herpes and when tested it turned out to be the same virus as the human STD. Yes I know that Herpes is a family of Viruses. Heck, in the Koi world there is a condition called Koi Pox which is a viral infection very similar to Chicken Pox. Likewise I have seen a horse with open sores on its neck and shoulders thanks to a viral infection. It was made a lot worst becasue of the biting flies. There is this antiseptic liquid I remember using on Horses to treat open sores. When added to water it looks just like dark urine and smells like a hospital times ten. I also remember getting it on my skin and it burned. The stuff did keep flies off of the wounds though. When I asked why I was instructed to use it on a viral infection it was to keep the flies from opening the sores to more infection. But in all of this discourse I remember the vet I was helping telling me that Humans can actually be a vector to transmit diseases to animals. Not through infection itself per say but by lousy hygiene.

Bird Flu was not supposed to infect humans but in Asia it mutated and almost became a pandemic. On top of that some men will put their you know what in any hole they can get away with! And mares in heat can be quite open about what they want. I think humans are the #1 cause of animal mortality becasue of a poor understanding of a lot of things besides biology and just poor maintenance of animals like horses. I am not around them 24/7 but I know feeding them too much fruit can cause their stomachs to ferment alcohol and screw a horse up. Likewise feeding them too much green is also as bad as feeding them too much hay. I have had to give a horse an enema before helping the traveling vet I worked for part time for during the summer. The owner thought all you fed horses was hay. Palos Verdes CA is full of idiots who think they know horses. Being a city boy it is nice to meet people who really know their animals. Heck, most of the local horse owners here have no clue you are supposed to check your horses feet (hooves, I know) for stuff sticking in the soft tissue of their foot and rocks jammed in their shoes. Many are too afraid to even try to look becasue they are scared of their horses kicking them. When the West Nile scare reached here the local vets who do treat horses were being driven crazy by people scared their horses would catch it.

I think the sad thing here is that most horse owners PAY someone else to take care of their animals which to me is a terrible owner! But still, panicking over a outbreak is worst than not doing anything at all. Again though some humans are filthy self indulgent pigs. We are our own worst enemy!

Our coral reefs are supposed to be infected with the herpes virus too. Go swimming and come out with an STD, yuck!

Sounds like you're describing iodine? It definitely works! However, I use tea tree oil on most everything. I swear, I need to buy stock in the stuff. Gentry is an absolute klutz, and between whatever he finds or bumps into in the pasture, and harasses Chance into kicking or biting him, he's always got nicks and cuts...

I do agree with you about humans being most of the problem. I even roll my eyes at the gobs of different training styles and materials out there. Regarding humans as vectors, its worse now because of the ability to transport horses so far in so little time. Used to be one might lose horses in an area, but the sickness would have died out or gone dormant before anyone got to another location.

Honestly, I don't know why some people have kids, or animals. The individuals are too busy to take care of either themselves, so they pay others to do it, which is sad.

Normally, I wouldn't be too panicky over another outbreak, but after losing Kissy to the WNV, it's made me a bit more worried. I am hands-on with the horses daily, so I ill know if things change, but I still don't want to deal with it.

This is why I love studying immunity! I am amazed at how with so many ways our body protects us...some bugs still get in to make us sick! There are some promising vaccine trials being done for a human herpesvirus. Vaccines for viruses are tricky because they are able to mutate so quickly, but when they do work it's exciting :) Wouldn't be too surprised if the USDA tried something similar for this outbreak.

Current Update: May 23, 2011


Currently, there are still 25 known horses in Texas that attended the event and 336 cohorts (stablemates) of the 25 that are currently being held under movement restrictions. The single confirmed case which was a horse from New Mexico that sought treatment in a veterinary clinic in Texas is now recovering. The horse returned to its original premises of origin. The single “suspect” case that was reported Thursday, May 19, from Jack County tested negative for EHV-1, however was euthanized due to the severity of its unrelated illness. TAHC continues to evaluate other unrelated horses with clinical signs, but no additional cases have been confirmed at this time.


To be consistent with reports from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other states, the TAHC is following USDA guidelines for clinical and suspect cases which have very specific criteria to meet the case definition. Currently “suspect” and “confirmed” cases will be the two types of cases that the TAHC reports.