The Facts:

Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1)

Wendy Mollat, DVM
Board Certified Large Animal Internal Medicine
 Equine Herpes Virus-1
Rhinopneumonitis, “Rhino”
Widespread within horse population
Three clinical presentations:
Respiratory disease
Abortion
Neurological disease
 the horse’s body, setting up a carrier state that
is life-long. Horses of any age that are carriers of
EHV-1 do not show any external signs of disease
when the virus is in a latent form. The virus can

Equine Herpes Virus-1 be reactivated during times of stress, such as

strenuous exercise, long-distance transport, or at
weaning.

Transmission of EHV-1

Latently
Infected Horse Stress

Most horses infected by 2

years of age
Latency Established Virus Reactivation

Virus has dormant state

within horse
Infection of Foal/Adult Horse

Reactivated during times

of stress
Infection of Other Foals/Adult Horses

The transmission of EHV-1 occurs after an exposure to an

adult horse or foal with an active EHV-1 viral infection. This
exposure generally occurs via respiratory shedding of the
virus. The infected adult horse or foal may or may not be
exhibiting clinical signs of disease.
 Respiratory Disease

Common among weanlings and yearlings

Mild fever, cough, nasal discharge
Clear initially, may progress to thicker
and yellow
Incubation period 2-10 days
 Abortion

Most are late term (7-9 months of

gestation)
Respiratory transmission
Fetal tissue and fluids are infectious
 Neurological Disease

Clinical signs commonly reported are:

Fever
Hind-end weakness - paralysis
Incoordination
Decreased tail and anal tone
Inability to urinate or defecate
 Neurological Disease
First outbreak Findlay, Ohio (2003)
Genetic mutation of virus
More severe and widespread disease
Increased mortality
Multiple outbreaks nationally since
Oregon/Washington 2008
 ! There are 7 horses associated with this incident that are dead or have been euthanized.

Current Information by Affected State

States not included in the tables below have reported there are no known exposed horses related

Current Outbreak
to this incident currently within their state.

Table 1. Horse Information

State # Horses # Horses # EHV-1 # EHV-1 # EHM # EHM # Dead or
exposed secondarily Suspect Confirmed Suspect Confirmed Euthanized
in Ogden, exposed Cases Cases Cases Cases
UT
Arizona "#! "$! %! %! %! %! #!
California &'! (! %! &! %! &! #!
Colorado )%! *+! #,! $! %! "! "!
Idaho )*! #'! #)! %! )! #! "!
Illinois #! ,! %! %! %! %! %!
Iowa &! &)! %! %! %! %! %!
Minnesota #,! (! %! %! %! %! %!
Montana #$! #! #! %! %! %! %!
Nebraska $! (! %! %! %! %! %!
Nevada $! +! )! %! %! %! %!
New Mexico ,! (! )! #! #! #! #!
Oklahoma #! )"! %! %! #! %! %!
Oregon "%! #"%! %! "! %! %! %!
South Dakota '! (! %! %! %! %! %!
Texas "*! )")! (! (! #! #! %!
Utah (! (! #! &! "! ! %!
Washington )'! %! %! #! '! "! %!
Wyoming #$! )'! #! %! %! %! %!
Total !"#$ %#&$ '($ )($ ()$ ()$ *$
*Information not reported USDA-APHIS May 19, 2011

!"#$%&'$()%%$ *"+,$($
 Current Outbreak
Table 2. Premises Information
State # Exposed Premises # Exposed premises with # Exposed premises
suspect or confirmed with no suspect or
EHV/EHM cases confirmed cases
Arizona ""! "! "#!
California $! %! $!
Colorado "#! %! &!
Idaho '(! %! ")!
Illinois "! #! "!
Iowa '! #! '!
Minnesota )! #! )!
Montana $! "! $!
Nebraska (! #! (!
Nevada )! '! *!
New Mexico %! '! $!
Oklahoma "! "! #!
Oregon "%! '! "&!
South Dakota '! #! '!
Texas "%! '! "&!
Utah $! (! $!
Washington '%! )! "+!
Wyoming &(! "! &'!
Total !"#$ #%$ !#%$
* Information not reported
 Actions
State veterinarians notified of horses
exposed at the Utah show
Facilities with exposed horses in
Washington State on voluntary quarantine
26 premises quarantined in Washington
National monitoring by AAEP and USDA-
APHIS
 Herpes Virus Transmission
Stress of transport and showing/racing
can trigger nasal shedding
Virus present in respiratory secretions
Direct horse-horse contact
Contaminated equipment (bits, buckets,
leads, etc) and hands
ALL horses have the potential to shed virus
 Prevention

GOOD BIOSECURITY
Vaccination
Immunomodulators
 Vaccination
Vaccines available for reducing the
severity of EHV-1 respiratory disease
and preventing abortion
No vaccine tested for mitigating EHV-1
neurological disease
AAEP recommendations
Every 3-4 months based upon risk
Broodmares at 5, 7, 9 months gestation
 Immunomodulators

Zylexis
Killed Parapox ovis virus
Stimulated horse’s immune system to aid in
reduction of respiratory disease caused by
EHV-1 and EHV-4
 BIOSECURITY
Isolate all incoming horses for 2-3 weeks
Take temperature twice daily for
minimum 14 days
Disinfect all feed or water buckets and
equipment between horses
Do not put allow hose nozzle to contact
water or bucket
 Disinfection

Clean the surface

Bleach 1:10 solution
Rinse three times before using item
 Controlling An Outbreak
Focus on exposed individuals
Isolate and monitor all new arrivals for
21 days
Quarantine sick horses or mares that
abort and contact your veterinarian
Testing for EHV-1 must be by blood and
nasal swab
 Recommendations

Be smart and use good biosecurity all

the time, not just for this outbreak
Cases in this outbreak still have direct
link to Utah horses
Risk will never be zero