OldDog/NewTricks
Well-known member
Horse stables under quarantine for mysterious virus
The Associated Press
News Fuze
Article Launched:03/25/2007 02:42:17 PM PDT
MONTARA, Calif.- Three horses here have died and as many as six more have fallen sick due to a mysterious virus that local riders, stable owners and veterinarians are trying to contain with an aggressive quarantine.
A Sunday riding event in nearby Moss Beach sponsored by the San Francisco Horseman's Association was canceled, and trails and beaches usually dotted by horses and their wind-blown owners were unusually quiet this weekend. Many ranches and pastures include signs with the warning, "Please Don't Pet Horse, Quarantine In Effect."
Ranches along the San Mateo County coast and in the Santa Cruz Mountains were under quarantine to try to prevent the spread of an aberrant strain of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1). Stables from Montara to Saratoga have banned the movement of horses for the next three weeks.
EHV-1, which is not transmitted to humans, is a genetic variant of a typically mild disease. There is no preventive vaccine, and it progresses quickly from fever to muscle weakness and collapse. A team of researchers led by Dr. John Madigan at the University of California-Davis is studying the outbreak, which has been traced the Nov. 29 arrival of a shipment of five horses from Germany to New York. One horse bound for California died shortly after arrival. A racehorse at Golden Gate Fields in Albany died in December, forcing a quarantine at all three Bay Area racetracks.
In recent months, the virus has caused outbreaks in 10 states, claiming a famous Palm Beach, Fla., polo pony and other expensive racehorses.
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The Associated Press
News Fuze
Article Launched:03/25/2007 02:42:17 PM PDT
MONTARA, Calif.- Three horses here have died and as many as six more have fallen sick due to a mysterious virus that local riders, stable owners and veterinarians are trying to contain with an aggressive quarantine.
A Sunday riding event in nearby Moss Beach sponsored by the San Francisco Horseman's Association was canceled, and trails and beaches usually dotted by horses and their wind-blown owners were unusually quiet this weekend. Many ranches and pastures include signs with the warning, "Please Don't Pet Horse, Quarantine In Effect."
Ranches along the San Mateo County coast and in the Santa Cruz Mountains were under quarantine to try to prevent the spread of an aberrant strain of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1). Stables from Montara to Saratoga have banned the movement of horses for the next three weeks.
EHV-1, which is not transmitted to humans, is a genetic variant of a typically mild disease. There is no preventive vaccine, and it progresses quickly from fever to muscle weakness and collapse. A team of researchers led by Dr. John Madigan at the University of California-Davis is studying the outbreak, which has been traced the Nov. 29 arrival of a shipment of five horses from Germany to New York. One horse bound for California died shortly after arrival. A racehorse at Golden Gate Fields in Albany died in December, forcing a quarantine at all three Bay Area racetracks.
In recent months, the virus has caused outbreaks in 10 states, claiming a famous Palm Beach, Fla., polo pony and other expensive racehorses.
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