South Dakota Mare Tests Positive for Equine Herpesvirus

Four of 10 exposed unvaccinated mares aborted their foals.
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South Dakota Mare Tests Positive for Equine Herpesvirus
South Dakota Animal Industry Board officials have confirmed that one Jerauld County mare tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
South Dakota Animal Industry Board officials have confirmed that one Jerauld County mare tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). Four of 10 unvaccinated mares, including the mare that tested positive, aborted their foals.

EHV 101

Herpesvirus is highly contagious among horses and can cause a variety of ailments in equids, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory disease usually found in young horses), abortion in broodmares, and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalitis (EHM, the neurologic form).

equine herpesvirus
RELATED CONTENT | Health Alert: Equine Herpesvirus (Video)

In many horses, the first or only sign of EHV-1 infection is fever, which can go undetected. In addition to fever, other common signs of EHV-1 infection in young horses include cough, decreased appetite, depression, and a nasal discharge. Pregnant mares typically show no signs of infection before they abort, and abortions usually occur late in gestation (around eight months) but can be earlier. Abortions can occur anywhere from two weeks to several months following infection with EHV-1.

Horses with EHM usually have a fever at the onset of the disease and might show signs of a respiratory infection. A few days later, neurologic signs such as ataxia (incoordination), weakness or paralysis of the fore- and hind limbs, urine retention and dribbling, loss of tail tone, and recumbency (inability to rise) develop

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