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On the eve of the 2014
Midwest Horse Fair, as a horse owner it has been hard not to hear the buzz and
become concerned about the recent outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus Myeloencephalopathy
(EHM).
Current
Status of the Outbreak (4/10/14):
Since our last
informational blog, the outbreak in Eastern Minnesota and Northwestern
Wisconsin has continued as there has been 2 more additional cases in that
region. One case is a confirmed positive
on April 8, 2014 (via PCR testing) found in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. This horse is currently recovering. The other is a suspect case found in Isanti
County, Minnesota (test results are still pending for this horse). To date in Wisconsin, there have been three
suspected cases but only two actual confirmed cases of EHM due to EHV-1 (one
previous suspect case did not test positive).
There continues to be no cases reported in Southern Wisconsin.
Should I
go?
We cannot tell you whether
or not you should attend the Midwest Horse Fair. Since horse people from all
over the Midwest are potentially attending, the chance for exposure of your horse to the
virus is possible. Of course, the absolute safest thing to do would be to not
attend, but that goes with any large equine event, and let’s be honest; this is a fabulous event. The folks involved with
the Midwest Horse Fair have put in place strict health requirements for all
horses entering the grounds and the veterinarians on the ground will be on high
alert.
As with any large equine
event, if your horse is attending, the chance of becoming
infected is present but low on the grand scheme of things. If you are attending the event as a spectator
only, the chances of your own horse becoming infected through secondary contact are even lower. However, since you can never really be too
careful, Badger Veterinary Hospital has put together a few recommendations for
attendees on practicing good biosecurity.
These recommendations are useful for any large equine event.
Keep
clean! Practice good
biosecurity:
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For
spectators:
1)
Keep the petting of horses down to a minimum. If you are touching horses, wash hands or use
hand sanitizer in between horses.
2)
Change clothes and shower before coming in contact with your own horses.
3)
Disinfect boots, tack, or other equipment prior
to bring them back to your own horses.
For exhibitors:
1)
Horses should comply with the health regulation
guidelines for the event.
2)
Avoid nose to nose contact of horses.
3)
Use your own water and feed buckets.
4)
Do not share tack or other equipment including
hoses, rakes, shovels, etc.
5)
If you have concerns about your horse while
participating in the event, take a rectal temperature and notify a veterinarian
if the temperature exceeds 102.0 F.
What is the best way
to disinfect equipment?
1)
Since disinfectants do not work as well in the
face of organic material (manure, bedding, food, etc..) it is important to
remove all this material prior to disinfecting.
2)
Then wash the equipment with soap and water and
allow adequate time for the equipment to dry.
3)
Apply a disinfectant and comply with the label
recommendations regarding application, contact times, and safety information. Useful disinfectants include: diluted bleach
water (1:10 dilution), Phenolic disinfectants (1-Stroke, Syn-Phenol), or Accelerated
hydrogen peroxide products (Virkon).
Resources:
If you have any other questions regarding the
specifics of the disease or disinfection, please see the following resources
for excellent, reliable, and up to date information.
-Biosecurity
toolkits from the State of California.
Scroll down to the bottom of this page for to links to excellent resources.
Have fun at the fair!
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