PARKLAND, Fla. — Sheryl Moore, a horse owner, is worried about an outbreak of Equine Herpesvirus, a group of highly contagious viruses that cause respiratory disease and can progress to serious complications and death.
Equine Herpesvirus type 1, or EHV-1, and EHV-4 can mutate into Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy, a serious neurological form of the disease that can result in paralysis and death. Moore is taking precautions.
“I try not to have the horses touch noses. They all have their own set of boots. They all have their own bridle, their own bits that go in their mouth. We have our own tack,” said Moore, an attorney and amateur equestrian.
The Equine Disease Communication Center reported an EHM outbreak started with an infected horse at the four-day Women’s Professional Rodeo Association World Finals barrel-racing event on Nov. 5 in Waco, Texas.
“This horse was shedding the virus into the environment, and because everyone is in the same arena, they are all in the same event, people are moving from space to space, it spreads like wildfire,” said Dr. Emilee Lacey, a veterinarian at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic who has been immersed in the sport horse world since she was a child.
On Nov. 20, the American Horse Council warned that “hundreds of potentially exposed horses” had returned home to dozens of states, and The American Association of Equine Practitioners published guidelines warning that “asymptomatic infection is common and facilitates transmission.”
As cases increased, the U.S. Polo Association issued an alert on Dec. 1. The American Veterinary Medical Association reported on Dec. 12 that there were 60 EHV cases in eight states: Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has an equine disease map, and on Monday night, it included an EHV-1 case in Hillsborough County.
“We are really hoping it doesn’t come to South Florida,” Moore said.
Lacey said there is a vaccination for EHV, but there isn’t a vaccination for EHM, so outbreaks prompt cancellations of horse riding events. Madison McGee had been a Western Barrel racer since she was 10 and said she had never seen so many events cancelled before.
“We just stay home with our horses. I would rather stay home than go out and have risk of contracting this virus,” McGee said.
The Davie Rodeo Association cancelled the rest of its circuit for the season and closed the rodeo arena for open rides. The Pine Hollow Equestrian Center in Parkland implemented new protocols.
“Before we go on the show grounds, we have to show that our horse has not had a temperature for three days in advance, which is morning and night. We have to take it twice a day, which is more work, but we are happy to do it to keep our horses safe,” Moore said.
Local 10 News Digital Journalist Andrea Torres contributed to this report.
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