Late Tuesday afternoon, officials in New York State confirmed by phone that a stable at Finger Lakes Racetrack in the western part of the state has been placed under quarantine after a horse that had been stabled there was diagnosed with Equine Herpes virus.
Dr. David Smith, director of the Division of Animal Industry of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets said that the racetrack is being very proactive about the situation, which also involves a farm where the horse had been stabled.
On the phone this afternoon, he said that efforts were underway to identify and locate horses that had been stabled with the affected horse, and that certain states had been notified if affected horses had been shipped there.
Racing continues at Finger Lakes.
EHV is not a disease that limits itself to racetracks. Sport, work and pleasure horses are also vulnerable to EHV. Vaccinations are available, although the disease has several strains, and veterinarians will advise horse owners on a horse’s risk factors for the disease based largely on exposure to other horses. Outbreaks of EHV in Northern Virginia and Wellington, Florida in the winter of 2007 virtually shut down all horse activities in those areas.
by Fran Jurga | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.comBe friends withFran Jurga on Facebook.com
