Farm under quarantine for equine virus

ZANESVILLE – A farm in Muskingum County is under quarantine after two cases of equine herpesvirus-1 were reported there.

Erica Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said EHV-1 is tracked by the state, and though it is not uncommon to “have a case here and there,” the disease is very contagious among horses and can be hard to treat, sometimes leading to fatalities.

“It can kill a lot of horses,” Hawkins said.

The two cases in Muskingum County aren’t considered an outbreak, she said. The state is monitoring the situation, and a 30-day quarantine is the standard procedure for such cases. The farm in question has about three weeks left under quarantine.

“It’s not unusual for multiple animals in the same farm (to become infected),” Hawkins said.

The horses most at risk are mares and foals — EHV-1 can cause pregnant mares to abort and can kill young foals. Signs of illness can include fever, nasal discharge and loss of appetite. The incubation period for the virus is two to 10 days, and most horses show signs of illness within a few days.

If there are no signs of illness among the horses by the time the quarantine is up, the quarantine will be lifted, Hawkins said.

The disease is most often spread through horse-to-horse contact, she said.

Both horses were at a competition in Springfield about three weeks ago, but Hawkins said the incubation period for EHV-1 was too short for the virus to have likely originated there. All evidence so far indicates that these cases are an isolated incident.

ksnyder2@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

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