Texas state officials confirm a team roping horse has tested positive for the equine herpes virus (EHV-1).
The affected equine was at the Sand Hills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa from January 6th thru the 8th. The Texas Animal Health Commission recommends the event’s participants monitor any horses that attended the event for clinical signs consistent with EHV-1.
Symptoms may include respiratory disease, abortion, and intermittent outbreaks of neurologic disease in horses. Symptoms that should alert horse owners to the possibility of neurologic EHV-1 infection include fever, weakness, incoordination, and urine dribbling or inability to urinate. Horses with these symptoms should be examined immediately by a veterinarian.
Suspect horses should be isolated from healthy horses. Veterinarians recommend using proper biosecurity measures when attending equine events to help protect your horses from the potential spread of any illness:
· Limit horse-to-horse contact.
· Limit horse-to-human-to-horse contact.
· Avoid use of communal water sources.
· Avoid sharing of equipment unless thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between uses.
· Monitor your horse for clinical signs of disease and report any temperature over 102°F to a veterinarian.
EHV-1 is highly contagious among horses, but poses no threat to humans.
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