First 2020 Case of VSV Confirmed in Arkansas
Three of four equids on one premises have tested positive for vesicular stomatitis virus. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In its July 27 Situation Report, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed three horses on a Benton County, Arkansas, premises with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), Indiana serotype. This is the state’s first case of VSV in 2020.

The first horse began showing clinical signs on July 19. Two other horses on the private equine property subsequently showed signs and tested positive. A fourth equid on the premises—a donkey—has not been affected. No other susceptible species reside on the property, and no recent animal movements have occurred on or off the premises.

Premises with confirmed positive and suspect cases are quarantined and monitored by veterinarians for at least 14 days from the onset of lesions in the last animal affected.

VS 101

Vesicular stomatitis virus 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 heal in two or three weeks

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