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More area horses may have virus
By JAN FALSTAD
Of The Gazette Staff
In addition to one confirmed case of vesicular stomatitis in a horse near Laurel announced Wednesday, five other horses in Yellowstone County are under investigation for the contagious disease.
Teresa Howes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Fort Collins, Colo., said Thursday that a local veterinarian called in three of the cases.
"They were bled and the samples are at the lab in Bozeman, so we don't have the results back," Howes said.
The other two horses under investigation had blood samples taken Thursday; those samples are en route to the lab.
Blood tests for VS at the Bozeman lab on the campus of Montana State University take three to five days, according to a local veterinarian. Normally, if a federal veterinarian takes the blood sample, it goes directly to Ames, Iowa. If the blood test is positive and the animal shows mouth or hoof lesions, a second test to confirm the finding is done in Ames at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
The federal veterinarian in Montana and Montana State Veterinarian Tom Linfield in Helena are jointly investigating the calls. The infected horse had not traveled outside Montana, Linfield said, but may have been exposed through contact with an out-of-state animal.
The locations of the five horses in Yellowstone County were not released.
But on Thursday, Linfield narrowed down the area where the first confirmed VS case in Montana in two decades was found.
The horse in the confirmed case lives in an area between the Laurel exit off Interstate 90 and the Laurel East exit and between the interstate and the Laurel Airport. This area encompasses about 4.5 square miles, according the Yellowstone County GIS Department.
A cutting horse competition that attracts dozens of horses and riders is scheduled Saturday and Sunday at the Horse Palace off the East Laurel exit.
Because the competition lies within a 10-mile radius of the VS-infected horse, animals will need to be tested.
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"I guess if it's not absolutely necessary for them to be there, they might consider not attending," Linfield said. "Otherwise get a veterinarian inspection within 24 hours of going and again before they leave."
Costs of the tests vary with the different fees veterinarians charge.
Susceptible animals coming from VS-affected states that haven't come within 10 miles of a confirmed outbreak will need a certificate of veterinary health issued within 72 hours of arriving in Montana.
A cow in Sublette County, Wyo., also was confirmed with VS Wednesday. According to the USDA, no one in Wyoming has called in more suspected VS cases.
Officials have this advice for owners of animals susceptible to the disease: To protect your livestock from VS, use fly spray, fly masks and fly sheets, dip bits in disinfectant, park away from other horse trailers if possible, and make sure to use clean buckets from home to water the animals. Avoid communal watering areas.
The Montana Livestock Department has one more tip.
"If your horse or animal tests negative, but they've been around other animals, in addition to the vet tests, keep them separated from your other livestock and watch them," said spokeswoman Karen Cooper.
One of the earliest signs of VS is excessive slobbering. Then the animal develops blisterlike lesions on the tongue, lips, around the nose or genital area or on the coronary bands above the hooves. Animals can refuse to drink or eat due to the painful lesions.
Signs of the virus appear within two to eight days. An animal usually heals in two to three weeks. The quarantine in Montana runs 21 days.
To report any VS symptoms, call the Montana Department of Livestock at (406) 444-2043 or to the regional office of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at (406) 449-2220.
By JAN FALSTAD
Of The Gazette Staff
In addition to one confirmed case of vesicular stomatitis in a horse near Laurel announced Wednesday, five other horses in Yellowstone County are under investigation for the contagious disease.
Teresa Howes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Fort Collins, Colo., said Thursday that a local veterinarian called in three of the cases.
"They were bled and the samples are at the lab in Bozeman, so we don't have the results back," Howes said.
The other two horses under investigation had blood samples taken Thursday; those samples are en route to the lab.
Blood tests for VS at the Bozeman lab on the campus of Montana State University take three to five days, according to a local veterinarian. Normally, if a federal veterinarian takes the blood sample, it goes directly to Ames, Iowa. If the blood test is positive and the animal shows mouth or hoof lesions, a second test to confirm the finding is done in Ames at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
The federal veterinarian in Montana and Montana State Veterinarian Tom Linfield in Helena are jointly investigating the calls. The infected horse had not traveled outside Montana, Linfield said, but may have been exposed through contact with an out-of-state animal.
The locations of the five horses in Yellowstone County were not released.
But on Thursday, Linfield narrowed down the area where the first confirmed VS case in Montana in two decades was found.
The horse in the confirmed case lives in an area between the Laurel exit off Interstate 90 and the Laurel East exit and between the interstate and the Laurel Airport. This area encompasses about 4.5 square miles, according the Yellowstone County GIS Department.
A cutting horse competition that attracts dozens of horses and riders is scheduled Saturday and Sunday at the Horse Palace off the East Laurel exit.
Because the competition lies within a 10-mile radius of the VS-infected horse, animals will need to be tested.
RelatedStory
VS Complicates Montanafair: Outbreak requires animal inspections
"I guess if it's not absolutely necessary for them to be there, they might consider not attending," Linfield said. "Otherwise get a veterinarian inspection within 24 hours of going and again before they leave."
Costs of the tests vary with the different fees veterinarians charge.
Susceptible animals coming from VS-affected states that haven't come within 10 miles of a confirmed outbreak will need a certificate of veterinary health issued within 72 hours of arriving in Montana.
A cow in Sublette County, Wyo., also was confirmed with VS Wednesday. According to the USDA, no one in Wyoming has called in more suspected VS cases.
Officials have this advice for owners of animals susceptible to the disease: To protect your livestock from VS, use fly spray, fly masks and fly sheets, dip bits in disinfectant, park away from other horse trailers if possible, and make sure to use clean buckets from home to water the animals. Avoid communal watering areas.
The Montana Livestock Department has one more tip.
"If your horse or animal tests negative, but they've been around other animals, in addition to the vet tests, keep them separated from your other livestock and watch them," said spokeswoman Karen Cooper.
One of the earliest signs of VS is excessive slobbering. Then the animal develops blisterlike lesions on the tongue, lips, around the nose or genital area or on the coronary bands above the hooves. Animals can refuse to drink or eat due to the painful lesions.
Signs of the virus appear within two to eight days. An animal usually heals in two to three weeks. The quarantine in Montana runs 21 days.
To report any VS symptoms, call the Montana Department of Livestock at (406) 444-2043 or to the regional office of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at (406) 449-2220.
