The Maryland Department of Agriculture announced that a Baltimore County horse was euthanized at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, after testing positive for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). The horse was originally transported to the facility for an unrelated medical issue. The horse began displaying neurological symptoms on January 14, 2018.
The Baltimore County farm of origin is presently under a 21-day investigational hold and strict biosecurity measures are in place while Maryland Department of Agriculture inspectors perform additional epidemiological and infectious disease testing.
The Maryland and Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture are working with the University of Pennsylvania to establish and notify epidemiologic links to the sick horse.
The Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) 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.
