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Kentucky EHV-1 Update: Two More Horses Found With ‘Trace Amounts’ Of Viral DNA In Nasal Swabs

E.S. “Rusty” Ford, equine operations consultant for the Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian, released the following update on an EHV-1 outbreak in Woodford County, Ky., on Monday. The outbreak was first announced March 11 after one horse at a training center was hospitalized with neurologic symptoms. On March 12, five more horse horses tested positive.

The additional 24 horses in Barn B of the index EHV-1 affected premises were sampled on Friday due to potential exposure of indirect transmission (riders) having occurred prior to confirmation of the index case. Two horses from this group had a trace amount of EHV-1 DNA detected in the nasal swab and were removed from the barn and segregated on Saturday.

To date, 18 horses in index Barn A and 22 horses in Barn B have had one set of negative test (nasal swab and/or blood) . The last febrile horse was removed from Barn A and placed in isolation on March 10, 2021. There have been no clinical horses in Barn B since the start of the outbreak.

Five of the nine horses in the isolation barn have tested positive with the last fever reported on Friday March 12, 2021. All horses in isolation are being monitored by the attending veterinarian.

A second round of testing is being planned for the horses in barns A, B and Isolation.

The management and staff of the premises continue to implement enhanced biosecurity and health monitoring protocols including multiple daily temperature recordings. Additionally, these enhanced measures have been implemented at other sanctioned training facilities in Kentucky.

Staff from the Office of the State Veterinarian continue to closely monitor the situation.

Appropriate biosecurity and other safeguards are fully implemented at Turfway Park.

Updates will continue to be provided as information is learned.

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Kentucky EHV-1 Outbreak: Five New Positives At Training Center

E.S. “Rusty” Ford, equine operations consultant to the Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian, released the following update regarding EHV-1 in the state Friday:

Results of the PCR testing conducted on samples collected Thursday were reported Thursday evening and did identify five additional EHV-1 positive horses (neuropathogenic strain). Two of the horses had been previously moved to the separate isolation barn and we did relocate the additional three positive horses to isolation last night as well. With the five additional positive horses, our population of potentially exposed horses grew and samples are being collected and submitted from each of those 25 horses later this afternoon with results expected to be available over the weekend.

We appreciate the commitment, effort, and resources Blackwood's management, horse owners, horsemen and attending veterinarians have provided. Biosecurity and health monitoring protocols that include temping horses multiple times daily have and will continue to be practiced by horsemen at Blackwood. These same procedures and protocols have been adopted and are routinely practiced by other training venues as well. State animal health officials and attending veterinary practitioners are working together and following up with testing of any horse suggesting evidence of an infectious condition. These combined efforts have helped us identify affected horses, thus better enabling us to mitigate further transmission and aide our ability to ensure we have safe and healthy environments for our horses and horsemen to continue normal operations within the commonwealth.

Index Case Update: Following a period of stability, the index case rapidly deteriorated and has been euthanized.

Other Guidance: Clearly, with the multiple ongoing EHV-1 events involving multiple breeds, disciplines, and venues, farms accepting new arrivals are to be reminded the importance of knowing the environment and status of where the horse arriving their farm originated and implementing needed husbandry practices that should include isolation, observation and assessment of the horse to insure healthy horses are introduced to your herd.

While our investigation of the Kentucky event as well as monitoring of disease events in other states continues, Kentucky State Veterinarian Dr. Katie Flynn and I will be providing further updates as information becomes available.

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New Shipping Precautions At Turfway As Thoroughbred Tests Positive For EHV-1 Near Lexington

E.S. “Rusty” Ford, equine operations consultant for the Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian, released the following note to media on Thursday:

Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) has been confirmed in a 3-year-old Thoroughbred filly in Woodford County, Ky.

The filly reportedly had a fever on Saturday, and was referred to a veterinary hospital in Lexington Tuesday evening after becoming unstable and ataxic.

The Kentucky State Veterinarians Office was alerted of the suspected EHV case on Tuesday night and the training facility was placed under restriction pending completion of diagnostic testing.

PCR Testing conducted at Equine Diagnostic Solutions in Lexington, Ky., reported the neuropathogenic strain of EHV1 was detected from the nasal swab.

Animal health officials have been present at the facility, previously imposed restrictions remain in place, and 27 exposed horses had samples (nasal swabs and whole blood) collected earlier today and submitted for PCR testing.

The horse was reported last night as showing signs of improvement.

There is no connection to any other EHV-1 incidents.

In addition to the affected premises, precautionary measures have been implemented at Turfway Park, with all horses shipping in to race being required to stable in the receiving barn unless trainer has permanently assigned stalls at Turfway. In addition to adjustment of stabling, biosecurity protocols have been elevated. The State Veterinarian's office has personnel onsite examining health documents and coordinating efforts with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's staff.

Updates will be provided as information is learned.

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Updated: Tests Show Gulfstream Filly Did Not Die Of EHV-1

Two barns at Gulfstream Park were briefly placed under a precautionary quarantine after an accident on the track's backstretch this week. The Daily Racing Form and Thoroughbred Daily News reported Wednesday morning that a filly escaped handlers Tuesday morning and ran through the barn area for a period of time, entering a barn that she was not stabled in before being caught. She was later found down in her stall suffering from neurological symptoms Tuesday night and was euthanized.

Because it was initially unclear whether the horse suffered some kind of trauma earlier in the day which led to her incapacitation or if she was suffering neurological disease, state animal health officials suggested implementing a quarantine while awaiting results of the filly's necropsy. 1/ST Racing chief veterinary officer Dr. Dionne Benson confirmed Wednesday afternoon that test samples from the horse were negative for EHV-1.

Elsewhere in Florida, a large horse show in Ocala is the center of an EHV-1 outbreak with two confirmed cases as of Wednesday. On Tuesday, an EHV-1 case was reported at Laurel Park, resulting in a quarantine of four barns there and a cancellation of the Friday racing card.

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