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—In Colorado, 201 horses and three cows have tested positive for VS so far this year. The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s State Veterinarian’s Office currently has 184 locations under quarantine. The quarantines are located in Adams (9 premises), Boulder (60 premises), Broomfield (1 premises), Douglas (1 premises), El Paso (1 premises), Jefferson (7 premises), Larimer (38 premises), and Weld (67 premises) 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 owners should not grow weary in doing well concerning insect control. There is some evidence that fly control practices have been an effective prevention tool in this present VS outbreak