The Oregon State University (OSU) Veterinary Teaching Hospital will not accept horses for anything but emergency services until at least Tuesday, July 30, due to an outbreak of equine influenza virus at the hospital, the school announced July 23.

Three horses at OSU are known to be infected with this virus and others could be, officials say. The affected horses have been placed in isolation and are being treated. Officials say they wish to emphasize that this is equine influenza virus, not equine herpesvirus-1, a more serious disease that is often confused with the influenza virus. The OSU equine facility typically treats five to 10 horses at a time, and all horses currently hospitalized will be monitored closely and tested for equine influenza prior to discharge.

“Equine influenza virus is endemic in the U.S., and we just happened to catch these cases,” said Keith Poulsen, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, an internal medicine specialist at the Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital in OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “We’ve acted quickly so that hopefully no other animals will get infected.”

The Large Animal Internal Medicine and Surgery Services program at OSU is working with the state veterinarian’s office to inform veterinarians and horse owners about the disease