As of Dec. 2, the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s (CDA) state veterinarian’s office has 17 locations in 10 counties under quarantine after horses, mules, and cattle herds tested positive for vesicular stomatitis (VS).

“Now that most areas of the state have had several nights with freezing temperatures, the insect populations have subsided,” said state veterinarian Keith Roehr, DVM. “This has translated into rapidly decreasing case numbers, the last newly reported positive case was on Nov. 22. We are releasing quaranties based on the time from when the last new case of VS was recognized on a facility. Our hope is that will will be able to release the remaining quarantines in the coming weeks." 

A 2014 outbreak of VS created 556 livestock investigations in Colorado resulting in 370 quarantines with the final quarantines released in January 2015.

A number of species are susceptible to VS, 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