The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported Feb. 6 that a King County facility has been quarantined after a horse tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1).

In an Ag Brief on the department’s website, State Veterinarian Brian Joseph, DVM, said this case is unrelated to another recent EHV case in King County.

“This is a different strain of EHV-1 than the virus strain that lead to an earlier quarantine at a separate horse facility in Woodinville this past December,” his statement said. “The most recent case involves a non-neuropathogenic strain of equine herpesvirus, though it is still serious and can cause respiratory problems in horses. The detection was made in a gelding that had recently been transported from Oregon. It is recovering under treatment and has not shown clinical signs of illness.”

The Equine Disease Communication Center reported that the horse was transported to Washington from Oregon’s Portland Meadows Racetrack