Another confirmed case of EHV-1 has been identified.  Read more ...

August 23, 2011: Confirmed case of EHV-1 neurotropathogenic strain
On August 23, 2011, a 15 year old Oldenburg mare from Sonoma County has confirmed positive for the neuropathogenic strain of Equine Herpes Virus-1. The mare is isolated, quarantined and undergoing treatment at a veterinary referral hospital. The premises of origin is under veterinary observation and the potentially exposed horses temperatures are being monitored twice daily. Epidemiologic investigation conducted by CDFA reveals minimal disease risk based on lack of animal movement on and off the affected premises. The investigation has determined the positive horse has no direct link to the May 2011 outbreak of EHV-1 in cutting horses which resulted in 22 positive confirmed equine cases in California. CDFA staff will continue to monitor the situation to ensure disease control.

The CDFA site has been a great place to read about California's EHM news.  There's a link just over there, to the right.  CDFA has reported that as of May 25, 2011, California had no NEW confirmed cases of EHV-1 caused cases of EHM.  That makes two consecutive days.  This is very good news.  Another week of no new cases might mean that things can go back to normal ... or something close anyway.

The hmmm news ...  The following (scroll down a bit) is what CDFA is now recommending for horse shows.  I hope these are just temporary biosecurity measures meant to "sort of" safely allow people to continue to show.  Most small to medium shows just don't have the personnel to follow through with step 2 if these were to become permanent recommendations.  Here's the recommendation, copied and pasted directly from the CDFA site:

Based on what is known today, we are suggesting that managers of horse shows or events occurring in California during the coming weeks incorporate the following biosecurity measures to minimize the risk for all participants:

1. Event managers should create a short document for participants to sign upon arrival at the show grounds to confirm that their horses, mules, and burros attending the show/event have not attended or had prior contact with horses from the NCHA Championships in Ogden, Utah and/or the Kern County Cutting Event in Bakersfield, CA, or been on the same premises with horses that have returned from these events. Horses that have attended, or been exposed to horses returning from either event will not be allowed to enter the show grounds.



2. Establish a “No Fever” policy for horses attending the event. Give the participants prior notice of the new “No Fever” policy before they arrive at the show grounds. Provide instructions for obtaining the horse’s temperature and an index card on which to record temperature readings for each horse.
• a. All horses will have temperatures taken twice daily and results will be posted on front of the stall/pen for inspection.
• b. Any horse will be subject to random temperature check by the show veterinarian or designated member of the veterinary staff during the event.
• c. Any horse with a fever of 102°F or greater will be removed from the event and premises immediately (i.e. within 2 hours of detection of fever).
• d. If the owner cannot move the horse off the premises, a professional horse hauler contracted by the event will remove the horse to a designated isolation area at the owner’s expense.
3. It is understood that some (most) horses with a fever will not have EHV-1; however, in the interest of conducting a safe event under the current circumstances, the no fever policy will be enforced. If you do not wish to comply with these safety measures please do not attend the event.

It's really hard to blog when you're not doing horse-related stuff, like riding, or showing, or taking lessons ...  So, for the next two weeks my posts may get VERY short.  

And I know I've mentioned it in passing, but I'll be in Europe for several weeks in early June and won't be able to post at all. Hopefully my horsey pals will fill in for me while I am gone by posting on the "Who Said That?" page.  I'll make that my home page so that you don't have to see my "On Vacation" sign every time you visit the blog.

With all of our local barns on "lockdown," no one is doing any riding and most of our nearby shows have been cancelled. Thanks to our new pal, EHV-1, I've had to start a new series.  I am calling it, "The Follow-Ups."  Yep, that's right.  I am following up from things I may have skipped before, or am telling you more of the story.  Here's the first one.

Do you remember that little piece I did a few weeks ago with Speedy G and his salt block?  If not, you can read about it here.  I was at the barn on Saturday morning doing a few different jobs around Speedy's stall and decided to check his salt lick.  If you'll remember, it's in his feeder which is too high for me to see over without standing on tiptoe.  I peeked over the top and got an "ew, gross!" look at the inside of the feeder.

The salt lick was brilliant white, but the rest of the feeder had chunks of beet pulp/rice bran mash crusted all over the place. Gross.  I am glad he's using the salt lick, but I think I need to dry-brush it out more frequently.  Here's a photo:

Wait ... Don't skip it ... it's not more information.  I think we've all had plenty of that, at least for this week.  

Wednesday's Facebook postings were almost exclusively about EHV-1 and EHM ... well on my "wall" anyway.  Since 99% of my "friends" are equestrian related in one way or another, that's all I saw.  I suppose if I had more of a life, my "wall" wouldn't have been filled exclusively with comments about herpes!  And truth be told, the 1% of my friends who aren't related to my equestrian life, completely understand my ... passion sounds so much better than obsession ... but, you know what I mean.

And on to  the REAL point of this post.  I love my vet.  Have I mentioned that before?  Dr. Tolley and Dr. Blanton of Bakersfield Vet Hospital were both interviewed by the print and television news media.  As soon as I read their names in the Bakersfield Californian (our local newspaper) and saw their faces on my TV, I couldn't help but excitedly squeal to my husband, "There they are!  Those are MY vets!"  He rolled his eyes and nodded.  I think there was also a deep sigh that smacked of exasperation.  I am sure he was thinking, so that's where all our money goes!  And hopefully this doesn't cost us any more ...

I was so excited to see the people whom I trust implicitly to care for my horses being asked to share their professional knowledge with the rest of the world.  I felt so ... vindicated!  That's right ... uh-huh ... those are MY people!  And then, Dr. Blanton, who returned from vacation JUST as this whole thing exploded, immediately got to work and started updating us on BVH's Facebook page.  She opened up a Q & A sorta thing, and practically begged us to pester her with questions.  

I ask you, are there any doubts as to why I love my vet?

I was going to blog about the EHV-1 virus today, but then I realized everyone has read everything about it that they want to already.  So I decided to blog about something else.  ... chirp.  chirp.  chirp.  (That's the sound of crickets chirping in the silence.)

But then I couldn't think of anything else to blog about which left me with a blank page.

So I started wasting time by pretending that I was blogging by looking through the Google searches that bring people to this blog and website.  EVERY SINGLE Google search aimed at this site was about EHV-1 in Bakersfield.

So I am back to blogging about EHV-1 and EHM.  I wish I had something new to add.  I think by now everyone knows that it can be a fatal disease.  Most people know that it is transmitted primarily by horse to horse contact, but it can also be passed from horse to horse by sharing brushes, feed buckets, grooming tools, farrier tools, and other implements.  It can also be passed from your hands or clothes.  

Most everyone is also aware that a fever is one of the first symptoms followed by loss of coordination, urine dribbling, loss of tail tone, hind limb weakness, leaning against something for support, and an inability to rise.  If you see any of these things, you should probably be worried, and get your horse isolated as soon as possible.

Most people are probably most concerned with just how long this thing is going to last.  I'll admit it.  It's rather inconvenient. This is the start of the show season.  People are gathering points and qualifying scores for championships later this fall.  The weather finally cleared up (well almost) and trail riding is well under way.  Babies are being born right and left and breeders want to show them off.  This is really inconvenient.

Okay ... I know.  Not very politically correct, but I know it's what many people are thinking.  Bizarrely - is this even a word? - it is actually VERY convenient for me.  WHAT?  Again, I know.  Not very politically correct, or even sensitive.  But here are the facts:

• Remember the pulled shoe on Saturday?  Apparently it HURT when it came off.  Speedy G tested VERY positive with the hoof testers on Sunday.  He also tweaked his shoulder(?) and who knows what else.  Although better, he's still definitely off when he circles to the left.  He was grade three lame (is this an endurance term, or is it used universally?) at the walk on Sunday.  Today, he was sound at the walk and grade 1 at the trot on the straight and to the right.  No riding for me right now ...
• I am a teacher.  I am currently living in hell.  There is no word to adequately express just how busy I am right now.  No time for anything else right now ...
• Have I mentioned that I am leaving the country in eighteen days?  Have I even begun to pack?  Does buying mini toothpaste and shampoo on Sunday count?  No? Then I have not yet begun to pack.  I may be following hubby's packing protocol: pack the night before and buy what you forget.  Don't worry, we're coming back!

And so ... what do you mean I can't take my horse off the property?  Thank goodness!

The social media sites and blogging sites were blazing hot on Sunday with talk about the EHV-1.  The possibility of a fatal disease striking your horse prompts many people to take evasive action.  I don't tend to get too excited about internet rumors and reports of horrible news until I get a first hand account of what is happening.  And even then I don't panic.  I also like to hear it being said from an expert.  I scoured the internet for non-inciting news yesterday and landed on several blogs and sites that gave honest information that didn't seem to exaggerate the seriousness of the "outbreak."  If you're interested in reading some of these posts, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

Many of you may not know the difference between Equine Herpesvirus-1 and Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy. First of all, there are actually nine equine herpesviruses, but only three of them, EHV-1 (the one we're worried about), EHV-3 (which causes a venereal disease), and EHV-4 (which causes a non-fatal upper respiratory tract infection) pose a serious risk to domesticated horses.

The vaccine that we give for EHV-1/EHV-4 (Rhinopneumonitis) does not protect against EHM.  There is no vaccination for EHM.  Once affected with EHM, the standard form of care is simply supportive.  Treatment may include intravenous fluid and anti-inflammatory drugs.

By about age two, many horses become infected with EHV-1 by contact with their dam.  The virus is usually inactive, but may become reactivated by stress or contact with an affected horse.  EHM is caused when the EHV-1 undergoes a mutation of the genome.  [a very, very simplistic explanation!]

So what can we do about EHM?  Interestingly, the literature I read strongly urges horse owners to NOT remove any horses from a site where a suspected case of EHM has been present until cleared by a veterinarian.  Oops.  That's what just happened.  So what do we do now?  Don't share tack, brushes, feed buckets, or any other communal items.  Wash your hands and change clothes if you even suspect a horse might be ill.  The disease is spread by horse to horse contact.  DON'T allow horses to touch noses.

All the websites and blogs are reporting essentially the same thing.  A case or two of the nuerologic version of Equine Herpesvirus-1 have been confirmed with a few other horses being treated as though they are positive.  Most experts are recommending a quarantine period for animals suspected of being infected.  The next few days should reveal a more complete picture.

For More Information:

• This is a brochure from the US Department of Agriculture that gives a very clear and easy to understand explanation of the Equine Herpesvirus.  It's the most informative piece I've seen.  You can access the file here, scroll down and download the pdf, or view the file in the window down below.
• This one is from the American Association of Equine Practitioners, click here.
• This one is from Equus, click here.
• This one was issued from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, click here.
• This one is from "Quarter Horse News", click here.
• This one is the National Cutting Horse Association's Facebook page, click here.

Our 11-mile trail ride turned into an 8-mile trail ride.  At the entrance to the park, we came upon some very uneven trail hidden in the grass, and Speedy pulled a shoe.  Thank goodness for all those endurance gizmos that I just can't quit using.  I pulled out my Easyboot, popped it on after not having used one in nearly a year, and came back home without tearing Speedy's foot up.  I immediately placed a call to the World's Greatest Farrier who agreed to come over and reset the shoe on Sunday.  Yes, I hiked back to find said shoe.  Anything to make my farrier happier.

And ...

The chiropractor appointment is cancelled, and I am not going to the schooling show in Moorpark.  WHAT?  I know ... pulled a shoe, no chiropractor, AND no show!  How can it get it any stinkier?  There's a reason.  A recent outbreak of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHV-1) has been traced to horses who attended the National Cutting Horse Associations’ Western National Championships in Odgen, Utah on April 30 – May 8, 2011.  California horses who participated in this event may have been exposed to this EHV-1 virus.  

What does that have to do with the chiropractor and the show?  I know that's what you're asking.  Apparently riders at the Ogden show returned to Bakersfield and showed on Saturday at a facility in town.  It has been reported that at least one horse has died already and several others are being treated.  When the competitors at the local cutting show heard about the virus, many left the show grounds and escaped quarantine.  Those horses returned to their own barns where they may or may not be contagious.  The California Department of Food and Agriculture encourages owners of horses who participated in the Odgen, Utah event to isolate and monitor their horses for clinical signs of disease.  They also recommend immediate separation and isolation of identified suspect cases and stress that implementation of appropriate biosecurity measures are key elements for disease control. 

Since the EHV-1 organism spreads quickly from horse to horse and the neurologic form of the virus can reach high morbidity and mortality rates, I think it would be safer for the horses at the schooling show if Speedy G and I stay home, especially since the incubation period of EHV-1 is typically 2-10 days.  Just in time for our arrival at Moorpark!

The barn owner where we were supposed to meet the chiropractor feels the same way.  She has put her barn on lock-down: no horses in, no horses out.  Cha Ching's mom isn't going to the hunter/jumper show at PDM tomorrow, either.  Her barn owner doesn't want horses coming and going for the same reason, neither does her trainer.

Over kill?  I don't know, but horse-to-horse contact, aerosol transmission, and contaminated hands, equipment, tack, and feed all play a role in disease spread.  And while there is no specific treatment for EHV-1, a sick horse will probably get intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatory drugs, and other appropriate supportive treatment.   Prognosis depends on severity of signs and the period of recumbency.  In other words, recovery is not likely.

There are many shows this summer.  Missing a show is a bummer, but being a responsible horse owner in our equestrian community means doing what's best for the whole herd, not just our own ponies.  Which brings up the whole de-worming situation, but I'll save that for another post.

If you want to read more about the California Department of Food and Agriculture's recommendations, click here.