Veterinary clinic re-opens after horse herpes scare

An equine herpes scare is over at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.

The large animal clinic at the University of Saskatchewan vet college had been shut down for more than a week, amid fears the herpes virus (EHV-1) might be spreading among horses.

The concern began June 18 when a horse with the disease was treated at the clinic. The clinic voluntarily suspended its equine clinical services June 21 following confirmation that the horse had the neurologic form of EHV-1, also called equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM).

But subsequent monitoring of other horses found no evidence the virus had spread and so the clinic has re-opened said Dr. Chris Clark, a specialist in internal medicine at the college. "Based on the results of our investigation and after consulting with several equine infectious disease experts in Canada and the United States, all indications show that the potential spread of EHV-1 infection in connection to the original case has been successfully controlled," said Clark.

Owners of the horse that was originally diagnosed with EHV-1 will maintain a voluntary quarantine on their farm, officials said.

EHV is a common equine virus to which nearly all horses are exposed during their lifetime. It usually causes mild respiratory disease, but in rare cases, the virus can affect a horse’s brain and spinal tissue and cause the neurological form of EHV-1.

Although the virus is highly contagious among horses, alpacas, and llamas it is not transmissible to humans and other animal species.