Florida Equine Herpes Virus 1 grows to seven cases
In a follow up to a story earlier this week, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced seven positive cases of Equine Herpes Virus 1 (EHV-1) confirmed in horses in Florida, six cases testing positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, according to a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services news release Feb. 27.
Public domain image/Dusan Bicanski
Six of the confirmed cases are linked to the Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) event in Ocala. As a result, officials issued a quarantine order to the entire venue hosting the HITS event and other areas where exposed horses have traveled placing hundreds of horses in quarantine.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said that officials, horse owners and veterinarians are taking strict precautions to prevent further spread of the virus. “We’re all watching this, hoping it doesn’t get bigger,” Putnam said. “We’ve taken extraordinary measures to contain the spread”, according to an Associated Press report.
Initially, one horse at the Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) event in Ocala started showing neurological symptoms last week, during the past day, six more tested positive. According to agricultural officials, four are located at Miles Away Farm in Loxahatchee and were linked to the HITS event. One horse is located at Redfield Farm in Ocala and was also linked to the HITS event. One horse located at Tequestrian Farm in Wellington is not believed to be associated with the HITS event. None of the six most recent cases have shown neurological signs at this time.
See more about EHV-1 in the Merck Veterinary Manual.
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[…] an update to the Equine Herpes Virus 1 (EHV-1) outbreak in Marion County, Florida, Department of Agriculture officials have quarantined two additional farms […]
[…] Six of the confirmed cases are linked to the Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) event in Ocala. As a result, officials issued a quarantine order to the entire venue hosting the HITS event and other areas where exposed horses have traveled placing hundreds …The Global Dispatch […]