EQUINE | Equine Disease Update
3. The pathogen rapidly spreads throughout the animal
population on the premises.
In May 2011, horses that attended the National Cutting
Horse Association event in Ogden, UT, were exposed to
equine herpesvirus 1. A number of these horses devel-
oped equine herpesvirus 1 my- eloencephalopathy. The
disease likely spread due to multiple high-risk practices
such as commingling horses of unknown health status,
stabling horses in close proximity, horses being tied to
fences outside of the arena, use of shared water sources,
use of com-munal wash racks, and exercising horses in
confined spaces. The resulting outbreak garnered nation-
al at-tention and serves as an example of a perfect storm
that had a significant impact on the equine industry.
Most equine event venues and facility layouts allow ex-
hibitors easy, direct access to competition/ exhibition
areas. Under such circumstances, many shows have in-
adequate or non-existent isolation facilities for horses
displaying signs of disease. To address this concern, start-
ing in December 2017 the United States Equestrian Fed-
eration will require that competition management have
an isolation protocol for horses suspected of hav¬ing an
infectious disease. Isolation of a clinically affected horse
is a critical first step in disease out¬break control. It is
essential to identify potential areas for isolation of sick
horses in an area away from the remainder of the equine
population. Due to the lack of appropriate isolation areas
at many events, consideration must be given to the con-
struction of a temporary pipe corral type/isola¬tion pen
in a parking lot or an off-site area. Vacant horse stables,
livestock facilities, supply sheds, or local fairgrounds may
be available for use in these situations. Advanced iden-
tification of appropri¬ate alternate stabling facilities will
allow for rapid isolation of a sick horse and decrease the
risk of potential disease transmission.
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In addition to adequate isolation, observance of basic
biosecurity practices are necessary to pre¬vent patho-
gen introduction and spread. Routine biosecurity prac-
tices should limit or avoid:
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horse to horse contact
human contact with multiple horses
use of shared communal water sources
use of shared equipment that has not been cleaned
and disinfected between uses
Additionally, daily monitoring of horse health on the
event grounds should include twice daily temperature
evaluations and observation for clini¬cal signs of dis-
ease. Horses with a temperature above 101.5° F or that
exhibit clinical signs should be reported to a veterinar-
ian and/or event official and be immediately isolated
away from all other horses.
A biosecurity toolkit for equine events has been de-
veloped to provide guidance on the development and
implementation of biosecurity plans and isola¬tion
protocols. The toolkit can be found at https:// www.
cdfa. ca.gov/ahfss/Animal_Health/Equine_Bio security.
html. The toolkit provides guidance for the assessment
and development of a biosecurity plan that addresses
specific disease risks at a particular event and venue.
Implementation of a biosecurity plan for every equine
event will help protect the health of the national equine
population.
Contact:
Dr. Katie Flynn
kflynniacdfa.ca.gov, (916)900-5039
Equine Staff Veterinarian
California Department of Food and Agriculture
Animal Health Branch, Sacramento, CA
• Equine Health Update •