No New Virus Cases; Quarantines Cut Back
By Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 11, 2007
With no new reported cases of equine herpes since March 2, Virginia health officials said Friday that they were reasonably confident an outbreak of the highly contagious virus would pass by the end of the month.
Virginia's state veterinarian released five farms last week from quarantine -- two farms in Loudoun County, two in Fauquier County and one on the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Prince William County -- after their horses tested negative for the virus.
Five farms remain under quarantine, said Elaine Lidholm, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. But she said it appeared likely that those farms will be released from the order by the end of March.
Six horses in the Washington area have tested positive for the equine virus EHV-1, which can cause severe neurological problems. The outbreak began last month and was traced to a horse that had been admitted to a Leesburg equine medical center for unrelated reasons. On Feb. 21, state officials began quarantining farms whose animals could have come into contact with infected horses at the center.
At Lynfield Farm in Hillsboro, which has one of the infected hoses and is still under quarantine, horse handlers are following strict bio-security practices. The virus spreads easily, not only through horse mucus and saliva but also from contamination on clothes and shoes, although the virus cannot be transmitted to humans.
Lynfield Farm owners Lynn and Lance Rice said they have purchased new pitchforks, muck tubs and disinfectant for their three barns. Employees are sprayed with Lysol and must wear full-body biohazard suits when handling any of the farm's 36 horses. Because a high fever is one of the symptoms of equine herpes, each horse's temperature is taken two or three times daily.
The infected horse, which stayed at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, has been separated from the others. Although no other horses have exhibited symptoms, Lynfield Farm will continue daily bio-security practices until state health authorities lift the quarantine.
"Even if we're out of the woods, it's better to be safe than sorry," Lance Rice said.
The neurological symptoms of the virus include stumbling and weak legs. In severe cases, horses are unable to stand and must be euthanized. In the current outbreak, two of the six infected horses have been put down but for unrelated reasons, health officials said.
In addition to the state-imposed restrictions, horse and stable owners across the region have taken their own precautions since the first case of EHV-1 was announced. Several equine events have been canceled or postponed the past three weekends, including the Casanova Hunt, Rappahannock and Blue Ridge point-to-point steeplechase races. Those races are huge moneymakers -- organizers of the Casanova Hunt Point-to-Point estimated one-day losses of about $30,000.
But many in the horse community, heartened by a recent string of negative test results, were easing restrictions by the end of last week.
Organizers of the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point, for instance, said they intend to stick to plans to hold the event Saturday.
"If the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point goes on, we'll feel a lot more confident about upcoming events," said Renee Brohard, a spokeswoman for Oatlands in Leesburg, which is scheduled to host the Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point on April 15.
Charlie Muldoon, director of operations at Morven Park, which voluntarily canceled a dressage show, horse clinic and competition for area high schools because of the outbreak, said the park would resume equine activities next weekend.
Fox hunting in Maryland and parts of southern Virginia is back after a self-imposed hiatus of more than two weeks, said Dennis Foster, executive director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, based in Berryville. Foster said it was too soon to tell whether fox hunting would resume in Northern Virginia before the season ends this month. He said the decision would be left to individual hunt groups.
State veterinarian Richard Wilkes, who canceled all public horse sales and auctions from Feb. 28 to March 5, said last week that those restrictions would probably not be reinstated.
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