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

As of May 1, the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) has lifted all equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) quarantines in the state.

One additional case of EHV-1 abortion was confirmed in Humboldt County in April—the Nevada state veterinarian received confirmation April 30 that a 9-year-old Quarter Horse mare aborted April 11 due to non-neuropathogenic EHV-1. The mare was undervaccinated and was exposed at her home facility to horses that traveled to a high school rodeo March 8-10 in Nevada. The owner had self-imposed a travel ban on the premise after a positive case was reported April 1 in Humboldt County associated with the same rodeo in early March; no quarantine has been issued for this case because the incubation period has passed and no horses have been moved to or from the property.

“This case shows how the disease is spread among the equine population,” said JJ Goicoechea, NDA state veterinarian. “The mare that aborted was never moved. The virus was brought home from a rodeo on another horse that was exposed but never showed signs of disease