EQUINE HERPESVIRUS OUTBREAK

Mesa County is among the four counties in Colorado with horses being investigated and quarantined for Equine Herpes Virus, according to a release Monday from the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The othee counties are all on the Front Range — Boulder, Larimer and Weld.

There have been two confirmed cases in Colorado of horses with EHV-1 in the past week, and one of the horses was euthanized. A second horse was euthanized, but it has not yet been confirmed as an EHV-1 victim.

Both confirmed EHV-1 positive horses had recently attended the National Cutting Horse Association’s Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah. The Colorado Department of Agriculture is working with the Utah State Veterinarian to investigate the location as a point of interest for the infection.

The Department of Agriculture is urging caution in transporting horses or bringing new horses onto your premises. Some veterinarians are reportedly urging people to avoid both actions for the time being.

Below is a link to the Department of Agriculture home page, with several links about EHV-1 on the left side, halfway down the page.

For Colorado Department of Agriculture website, click HERE.