On Feb. 5 officials at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) released a Santa Barbara County premises from equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) quarantine. The release follows two negative EHV-1 tests seven days apart for the two surviving horses that previously tested positive on the premises. These two horses had their first negative test result on Jan. 22.

The first horse that tested positive, a 21-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, was reported to have neurologic signs of EHV-1 on Jan. 4. Veterinarians confirmed the horse as EHV-1-positive and euthanized him on Jan. 9 due to the severity of his clinical signs. At that time two remaining horses on the index premises were quarantined with enhanced biosecurity measures and twice-daily temperature monitoring enacted.

On Jan. 17 officials confirmed that an additional horse, a 6-year-old Quarter Horse mare, tested positive after displaying mild neurologic signs.

On Jan. 21 officials confirmed an aged Miniature Horse gelding on the same premises tested positive for EHV-1 after he developed  a fever. The 6-year-old mare and the Miniature Horse gelding are reported as recovering