Monday, May 16, 2011

5/16/11 Update on local southern Idaho EHV-1 outbreak

Idahoequinehospital.com/blog

May 16th, 2011

As of today, May 16th we do not have any new clinical cases of EHV-1 that we are aware of in our area. We are closely monitoring horses on the farms that had clinical cases and as of 3 pm no horses on those farms have developed fevers or any associated clinical signs.

The state is not imposing any quarantines at this time and horse travel to and from the state has not been restricted. Any quarantined farms have done so at their own discresion.

Herpes virus is not particularly resistant in the environment. It may live up to 30 days in ideal conditions but likely does not live more than a week in most field situations. It is readily killed by most disinfectants including alcohol (including commercial hand sanitizers), chlorhexidine, betadine, and bleach (diluted 1:10 with water). Bleach is inactivated by organic material (dirt, manure, etc) so anything being disinfected should be washed first to remove organic matter. Phenolic disinfectants work better in the presence of organic material but can be toxic to cats so they should be rinsed after allowing a 10 minute contact time, and they work best when applied at >60 degrees F.

Please contact event coordinators to see if any changes have been made for events that may be occurring this weekend-it is at their discretion whether events will be held or rescheduled.

We will continue to update you on this situation as it develops.

For now we are continuing to recommend segregation of potentially exposed horses and monitoring of their temperatures twice a day to monitor for development of the disease.

Please feel free to contact us if you have additional questions.
208-466-4613

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