In many horses, the first or only sign of EHV-1 infection is fever, which can go undetected. | Photo: Kevin Thompson/The Horse

The Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) reported Sept. 22 that animal health officials have confirmed a case of equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), in a Montgomery County, Maryland, horse.

“On Sept. 21, the Maryland Department of Agriculture Animal Health Program confirmed a positive EHM case in a 12-year-old Warmblood gelding,” the EDCC said. “The neurological horse was seen earlier and treated as an outpatient on Sept. 21 at a private veterinary clinic Loudoun County, Virginia, before returning home to a private farm in Montgomery County, Maryland. A hold order placed on the farm the evening of Sept. 21.

“There are 18 horses on the farm in three barns,” the EDCC continued. “The positive gelding is isolated from all horses on the farm. The positive gelding was previously housed with four horses in one barn. The other two barns are more than 30 feet away from the exposed barn. Strict isolation and biosecurity protocols are in place at the exposed barn with body temperatures taken twice daily