Utah State Veterinarian Barry Pittman, DVM, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM, is advising Utah livestock owners that the presence of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) continues in Duchesne, Uintah, and Utah counties.

The affected premises are in various stages of quarantine. Livestock owners are encouraged to take appropriate measures to protect their animals.

Tests conducted by the USDA Plum Island Animal Disease Center’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, in New York, confirmed the first Utah case in early August. Since then other animals at different locations have tested positive for VSV.

A number of species are susceptible to contracting VSV, including horses, mules, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, pigs, and camelids. The clinical signs of the disease include vesicles, erosions, and sloughing of the skin on the muzzle, tongue, and teats and above the hooves of susceptible livestock. Vesicles are usually only seen early in the course of the disease. These blisters leave raw tissue that is so painful that infected animals often refuse to eat or drink and could show signs of lameness. Severe weight loss usually follows