A farm in Western Pennsylvania has been quarantined after a horse residing there tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) reported Nov. 27.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture posted a quarantine at a Butler County dressage barn after a horse with signs of neurological impairment tested positive for EHV-1 (wild-type) by RRT-PCR testing of nasal swab and whole blood samples,” the EDCC said in a post on its website. “All equine animals on that property are under quarantine and are being monitored closely for signs of equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy.

“One other small private home barn is also under quarantine as it recently received a horse from the affected barn. An epidemiological investigation of equine movements is underway. As of today, there have been no deaths, no additional neurologically impaired animals, and the index case is recovering.”

Herpesvirus is highly contagious among horses and can cause a variety of ailments in equids, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory disease usually found in young horses), abortion in broodmares, and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy, the neurologic form of the virus. In many horses, fever is the only sign of EHV-1 infection, which can go undetected