Posted 2005-05-23 11:05 AM (#25485) Subject: VS alert please read! This is not a drill!
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
News Release
Texas Animal Health Commission
Box l2966 • Austin, Texas 78711 • (800) 550-8242 • FAX (512) 719-071
Bob Hillman, DVM • Executive Director
For info, contact Carla Everett, information officer, at 1-800-550-8242, ext. 710, or ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us
For Immediate Release---
And Now There are Three…
Texas Joins States with Vesicular Stomatitis in 2005
Texas, on Friday, May 20, joined New Mexico and Arizona as states with confirmed cases of vesicular stomatitis (VS) this spring. Two Travis County horses were hauled home May 10 from a trail ride in Arizona, where they apparently were exposed to the virus that can cause animals to develop blisters and sores in the mouth, on the tongue, muzzle, teats and hooves. The year’s first VS cases were confirmed April 27 in two horses in southwest New Mexico. Since then, infection has been detected in 17 horses on 11 premises in New Mexico, Arizona, and now, Texas.
“A number of states and countries impose strict testing, permitting and inspection requirements for livestock that originate from VS-affected areas or states. Check with the state or country of destination before hauling livestock from Texas,” said Dr. Bob Hillman, head of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. Phone numbers for other states’ animal health regulatory agencies can be obtained from the TAHC’s Austin headquarters at 1-800-550-8242. Staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Austin office can be reached at 512-916-5565 for international shipping rules or restrictions.
“VS rarely causes death, but an animal can suffer several weeks, while the lesions heal,” said Dr. Bob Hillman, who also serves as Texas’ state veterinarian. “To help prevent the spread of VS, an infected animal and the other livestock on a premises are quarantined until at least 30 days after the sores heal. Prior to releasing movement restrictions, a regulatory veterinarian will examine the affected animal to ensure healing is complete. Other livestock also will be checked. If infection is detected, the quarantine will begin anew.”
Dr. Hillman explained that the clinical signs of VS mirror those of the dreaded foreign foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease. Horses are susceptible to VS, but not FMD; however, both diseases can affect cattle, sheep, goats, swine, deer and a number of other species. “When sores or blisters are seen in FMD-susceptible animals, we must immediately rule out an introduction of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). When horses have lesions, a VS test rules out other possible causes for blisters and sores, including toxic plants, chemicals or poison. Tests are run at no charge to the animal owner, and the VS diagnosis in horses is confirmed at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, IA.”
Dr. Hillman noted that the disease occurs sporadically, but outbreaks generally follow a 10- to 15-year cycle. In l982-83, the country suffered its worst recorded VS outbreak, when infection was confirmed on 617 premises in nine states: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Subsequent outbreaks in l995, l997 and l998 were limited to New Mexico, Colorado and Texas, with a few cases in Arizona. Last year, Arizona was "spared,” when Texas had 15 VS cases, New Mexico had 80, and Colorado, 199.
Livestock owners and private veterinary practitioners are urged to report suspected cases of VS to their respective state's livestock health regulatory agency:
Texas Animal Health Commission -- 1-800-550-8242 (operational 24 hours a day)
New Mexico Livestock Board -- 1-505-841-6161
Colorado Department of Agriculture, State Veterinarian's Office -- 1-303-239-4161
Arizona Department of Agriculture, State Veterinarian's Office -- 1-602-542-4293
The TAHC’s web site at http://www.tahc.state.tx.us has additional information on VS and a link to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where situation reports, maps and movement restrictions and requirements are posted.
Posted 2005-05-23 5:51 PM (#25533 - in reply to #25485) Subject: RE: VS alert please read! This is not a drill!
Regular
Posts: 68 Location: Flagstaff, AZ
We are very conscious of VS in Arizona and all the sites so far have been quarantined. For those traveling with horses do not let them drink from troughs where other horses have been drinking. This is a nasty disease.
Posted 2005-06-01 1:21 AM (#25921 - in reply to #25485) Subject: RE: VS alert please read! This is not a drill!
New User
Posts: 1
Location: Wickenburg, AZ
Just to let you know - I too agree with sunnyarizona - we do take the VS threat seriously in Arizona and abide by the state mandated quarantine guidelines.
I believe my horse and I were on the same ride as the infected horse (May 2-6) in Arizona. Not to point fingers as to how or where the Texan horse became infected, but according to several equine medical sources, VS incubation period is from 2-10 days.So unless they spent a few days in AZ before coming to the ride, the initial VS contact could be anywhere from Texas to Arizona.
On the morning of the third day (Wednesday) we saw the horse on the trail, he/she was frothing at the mouth and had copious amounts of drool. The owner was queried by another rider as to her horse's condition. She stated she had been told (by a vet I presume) that her horse might have a hay allergy. Evidently, the owner was still concerned and her horse went to the vet the following day (Thursday). That evening, all the riders were informed the horse was being screened for VS. Initially we were all to be kept in quarantine on the ride site. However, later that evening, state officials modified the quarantine to allow Arizona residents to return to their local homes and quarantine their animals (and all others on their property) to their respective locations. Horses from out of state would not be allowed to cross state lines and had to remain quarantined in Arizona for an indefinate time period depending on test results. Should the test results come back negative, the quarantine would be lifted, if the results were positive it would be lifted 30 days AFTER the last blister/sore had healed. Should another horse fall ill - the quarantine would extend an additional 30 days AFTER that horse had healed.
On Saturday, May 7, we all received an e-mail from the ride chairperson stating the test results were Negative for VS and the quarantine lifted.
Evidently, the test results were not accurate - earlier last week I received a phone call informing me the horse & another horse traveling with it had been retested and were Positive for VS.
The horse owners and ride officials acted in a responsible and professional manner in dealing with the situation. Information was printed and passed out to ride attendees.
As far as I know, no other horse from the ride has become infected - we had approx. 100 riders there
Hopefully, the two horses in Texas are on the road to recovery and future outbreaks can be contained.
VS alert please read! This is not a drill!
