State veterinary officials lifted a month-long quarantine on a Rockingham County horse stable this week after no more horses exhibited symptoms of equine herpesvirus, EHV-1. In early January, a horse from the stable was taken to the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State University and tests confirmed it had EHV-1. The horse was quarantined to the equine isolation unit of the hospital. It did recover from the virus.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Division acted quickly to prevent the spread of this disease even before the virus was confirmed. NCDA&CS field veterinarians and animal technicians immediately started working with the stable owner to identify other horses that could have had contact with the ill horse. Once they received notice of a positive test result, veterinary field staff put quarantines on six other stables and notified owners of what symptoms to watch for. No other horses exhibited symptoms on those farms.
“It is a testament to our preparedness activities and the cooperation that we received from the College of Veterinary Medicine that we were able to respond so quickly to this virus,” said State Veterinarian David Marshall. “This is a highly contagious virus, and cooperation from all parties was the key to ensuring that it didn’t spread any further.”
North Carolina has an active horse community and highly active horse facilities. EHV-1 has been detected in many states, but this was the first time the highly contagious virus was confirmed in North Carolina. The virus poses no threat to humans.
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