EHV-1 in Florida

[Tom]

The virus that has killed five horses in Wellington to date is the EHV-1
strain. There is a vaccine for this virus but whether or not to
vaccinate your horse should be discussed with your vet as each horse and
their circumstance is different. This vaccine is only effective if a
booster is given every three months. Stadium Jumping has canceled the
horse show for this weekend and other cancellations may follow. Several
barns in Wellington are under strict quarantine, (state vets on premises
with police) while others are voluntary, but the State of FL Vets are
asking everyone to keep their horse at home for two weeks or until
further notice. More information will be known and announced in 7-14
days. At this time the FL boarder is closed to all horses going in or
out. Unfortunately many peare trying to move their horses out of
Wellington and it is strongly recommended that no one take in any new
boarders because they may not be honest about where they are coming
from. As the ge!
station of this virus is 7-21 days if your barn is under quarantine it
means your horse must stay in their stall for 21 days, or 42 days if a
horse becomes sick close by. Symptoms are fever, respiratory congestion
(sneezing, coughing) and after a few days neurological problems. Please
call your vet at the FIRST sign of a problem. Recommended precautions
are as follows:
Anyone (Vet, Farrier, stall muckers, feed store delivery men, trainers,
riders, friends, etc.) who has been at another horse farm before
arriving at your farm should be asked to wash their hands and wipe their
boots off of all sand and dirt on a doormat then step into a bleach and
water footbath. Make a fresh footbath for each person.
Take the temperature of each of your horses morning and night and
record these temps on a chart. This is very important because the temps
will often go up and down a little before it spikes quite high and your
horse becomes visibly sick. Any increase in temperature is suspect. (A
horses normal temp is around 100 degrees. So any temp at or above 101 is
above normal. You should always take your horses temp when you know they
are healthy to get a baseline normal temp for your horse.)
Do not allow anyone to touch or work on any horse with a temp at or
above 101 degrees.
Have anyone working with your horses wash their hands between each
horse.
Keep your horses on your own farm or ride in areas away from other
horses. Do not allow your horse touch noses with any other off-farm
horses. Do not ride near other peoples property. Do not let your horses
touch anything on someone else's property, especially fences, gates,
grass, etc. that another horse might be likely to touch. Do not share
water buckets or let your horse drink out of a common water trough.
This virus is also airborne. If an infected horse sneezes it can reach
another horse or person at 35 feet away.
Anyone who has had horses in the Wellington area in the last week please
be especially careful. It would be best to separate those horses from
your other horses on your farm if possible.
This is a very serious problem and we cannot take this lightly. Once a
horse reaches the neurological stage of this disease it is fatal. It
hits young horses especially hard. It is VERY contagious. If you have
any questions please call your vet.
According to TheHorse.com ( copy of the article is given below the
meeting notice for those who have not yet read it)
http://thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=8435


There is a nasty sometimes fatal Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) outbreak
which has come to Florida from a quarantine center in NY via 5 of 15
horses imported from Europe. One of the 15 horses was sent to
California, where it died and was diagnosed. Other horses in Florida
are now being diagnosed, deaths have been reported. Federal officials
are working on finding the remaining 6 horses who came from that same
quarantine facility.


There is an unconfirmed report that a horse in Ocala (who came up from
Wellington) has just been diagnosed with EHV-1 -- and that a horse at
Jupiter Farms was diagnosed with it who never left the property (but its
owners did)

[amanda1]

Also....I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it has been reported that a horse at Calder (was treated at the same clinic as one of the show horses) is showing signs of infection. This could be a MAJOR problem.

Anyone with horses going in or out of Calder......make sure you are aware of any restrictions beforehand.....and weigh your decision carefully!

Hopefully this will be contained but it seems the last few years EHV has become more of a problem than before..

[cewright]

Tom

Would you please provide a reference or otherwise confirm your statement about the borders being closed. I checked the FLA Animal Health Website and saw no such reference.

The reason I am asking is I have several friends who are planning to leave TX on Fri to go to the QH shows in the Tampa area. They are trying to weigh the risk of traveling to the show vs their desire to achieve year end awards. A difficult decision for some.

Yet, on the other hand, a decision based on unsubstantiated rumors and speculation can have far reaching consequences.

I take the risk of EHV-1 very seriously and appreciate your help in this.

Regards;

Chuck

[Secretariat73]

I've heard conflicting reports about the FL border being closed??? Can someone confirm or deny?

FYI Calder and Tampa Bay (just to be safe) have imposed restrictions:

No new horses will be admitted for stabling or training in the main barn area for a period of seven days. Individuals intending to ship horses for arrival after December 26 should contact the racing office before finalizing arrangements.

•Race-and-go horses will be housed in dedicated receiving barns.

•Pre-existing entry health requirements remain in effect. All horses must arrive with proof of vaccination for EHV-1 (no less than 14 days, no greater than 90 days), a certificate of veterinary inspection with EHV-1 specific affidavit, and proof of a negative Coggins Test.

•All horses are to have rectal temperatures taken twice daily, with any temperatures of 102 or higher reported to the track veterinarian. Any horse with a fever will be removed to an isolation barn pending the results of testing.[/list]

[Secretariat73]

Link to FL AEP page: http://www.faep.net/healthalert.htm
As of 12/16: With the exception of the affected premises, there are no state or federal restrictions for horse movements into, within, or out of state of Florida.

Also: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/

Keep tabs on these sites for updated info.

[Tom]

Chuck;

I dont know if this helps but perhaps hey know the answer.

Dr. Maureen Long

For Veterinarians, Farm Managers and Owners

December 20, 2006

3pm - 4pm at OBS in Ocala

sponsored by the

University of Florida

College of Veterinary Medicine

[Tom]

Chuck;

I dont know if this helps but perhaps hey know the answer.

Dr. Maureen Long

For Veterinarians, Farm Managers and Owners

December 20, 2006

3pm - 4pm at OBS in Ocala

sponsored by the

University of Florida

College of Veterinary Medicine

[DLC]

T

The virus that has killed five horses in Wellington to date is the EHV-1

Not true, there are three confirmed deaths.....

the State of FL Vets are
asking everyone to keep their horse at home for two weeks or until
further notice. More information will be known and announced in 7-14
days. At this time the FL boarder is closed to all horses going in or
out. Unfortunately many peare trying to move their horses out of
Wellington and it is strongly recommended that no one take in any new
boarders because they may not be honest about where they are coming
from.

This also is absolutely not true. Horses are still shipping in and out of Florida daily. The FL border is not closed nor has it been.

Also, no one is trying, nor are they allowed, to move horses out of the quarantined areas in Wellington so there is no need to worry about people being "honest" about where they are coming from.

And "everyone" has not been asked to keep their horse at home for two weeks. Horses are moving all over the state, outside of the few small quarantined areas, daily as usual. Horses are still going in and out of the racetracks with precautions and the huge Florida Gold Coast QH shows with people from all over the US will be starting shortly in Tampa at the Fairgrounds.

Gotta love the "rumor mills"......