The Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) offers alerts about equine diseases that have been confirmed by reliable sources. The following information is from the EDCC. The following reports are in chronological order from most recent to oldest from previous reports.
Three Barns at California Premises Now Under EHV Quarantine
At the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, a horse that had been placed in the quarantined isolation area of the facility on November 3 due to an elevated temperature and initially tested negative on both nasal swab and blood for EHV-1, has subsequently tested positive on both nasal swab and blood for non-neuropathic EHV-1. Since this horse was originally moved to isolation from a barn on the facility that had not previously been identified with a confirmed EHV-1 case, the horse population under quarantine at LAEC was expanded to a total of three barns under quarantine. All horses under quarantine are required to have their temperatures taken 2X/day and any elevated temperatures reported to incident management. In addition, all horses in these barns are under enhanced and strict biosecurity protocols.
Since issuance of the quarantine on November 3, 2016, a total of six horses displaying neurologic signs have been confirmed positive for equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy. One of the six horses was euthanized on November 3 due to the severity of clinical signs. All other confirmed positive horses remain in quarantined isolation and are stable and responding to treatment. Four of the six confirmed positive horses participated in a horse show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 24-29, 2016. At this time no additional EHV-1 cases have been confirmed in horses that exhibited at the Las Vegas horse show. CDFA has confirmed that the host facility has undertaken biosecurity measures that include thorough cleaning and disinfection of the show facility.
CDFA Animal Health Branch veterinarians continue to monitor the quarantine and situation on-site and will provide additional updates as they become available.
About EDCC
The Equine Disease Communication Center works to protect horses and the horse industry from the threat of infectious diseases in North America. The communication system is designed to seek and report real time information about disease outbreaks similar to how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerts the human population about diseases in people.
The goal of the EDCC is to alert the horse industry about disease outbreak information to help mitigate and prevent the spread of disease. Ultimately frequent and accurate information about diseases outbreaks improves horse welfare and helps to prevent negative economic impact that can result from decreased horse use due to a fear of spreading infection. As part of the National Equine Health Plan the EDCC will serve as part of the communication to help educate and promote research about endemic and foreign disease.
Working in cooperation with state animal health officials and the United State Department of Agriculture, the EDCC seeks information about current disease outbreaks from news media, social media, official state reports and veterinary practitioners. Once information is confirmed, it is immediately posted on this website and messages sent to all states and horse organizations by email. Daily updates are posted until each outbreak is contained or deemed no longer a threat.
The EDCC is made possible by generous donations from organizations and horse owners. Please visit our sponsors that have generously supported this program for the benefit of the health and welfare of horses. To learn how you can help go to SUPPORT.
