Animal health officials in Colorado and Texas have reported additional equine cases of vesicular stomatitis (VS) in both states.

The viral disease can cause blisters and sores in the mouth and on the tongue, muzzle, teats, or hooves of horses, cattle, swine, sheep, goats, llamas, and a number of other animals. Lesions usually will heal in two or three weeks. Because of the contagious nature of VS and its resemblance to other diseases such as foot and mouth disease, animal health officials urge livestock owners and caretakers to report these symptoms to their veterinarian immediately. Most animals recover well with supportive care by a veterinarian, but some lesions can be painful.

Colorado—The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s (CDA) State Veterinarian’s Office has placed 133 locations under quarantine after a total of 201 horses and three cows tested positive for VS. The quarantines are located in Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld counties; results on additional tests in these and other counties are pending.

“The Colorado Department of Agriculture is not recommending events be cancelled; instead, we are recommending that events and livestock owners take extra caution to control flies,” said State Veterinarian Keith Roehr, DVM. “Livestock, including horse and cattle owners, should be aware that insect control is an important tool in the prevention of VS. Most of the cases we have investigated involve horses that have had no history of movement; therefore, controlling black flies and midges are very important in the prevention of the spread of disease