Hi,

I have been hearing about this mysterious horse virus in Colorado. Do you have any info on how safe our horses are?

_________________
"If you liked it you should have put a ring on it" Beyonce

Hi Crazy Heart,
I really apologize for not getting back to you sooner.
The herpes virus is the virus that has been discussed lately. Fortunately it seems that the outbreak is over for the most part. It started at the cutting show in Ogden Utah and horses that had been at that show were exposed. Some of them came down with the virus and brought it back home. Luckily the virus was detected early and those premises were quarantined. There were a few cases in Colorado, mostly horses that had either been at the show or exposed to horses that were, but none in Jefferson County. During the outbreak most people elected to not move their horses around or go to shows so the outbreak appears to have been contained. As of now there have been no new cases. Horses that come down with the herpes virus mostly show signs respiratory signs of fever, lethargy and nasal discharge, a lot like the influenza virus. Occasionally (rarely) neurologic signs can develop depending on which strain of the virus is prevalent. The routine herpes vaccine only protects against the respiratory form of the virus, as of now no vaccine against the neurologic form has been developed.
If you have any other questions please let me know,
Dr Harland