Several cases of Potomac horse fever (PHF) have been confirmed in central Virginia, prompting the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) to release an outbreak alert. The alert was posted on the school’s Facebook page on July 13.

PHF is caused by Neorickettsia risticii, an organism found in some flukes (a wormlike parasite) that infect aquatic snails and insects (such as caddisflies, mayflies, damselflies, and dragonflies).

"Horses become infected by inadvertently ingesting infected snails, snail slime, and/or aquatic insects through grazing and drinking," the alert stated. "Due to the abnormally rainy weather, there may be an increased number of aquatic insects and snails exposing horses to this disease."

Elsewhere, the Hagyard Equine Medical Institution reported via Twitter that PHF cases were confirmed in Kentucky in May

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.