EHV Confirmed in California Horse

An additional 66 horses were exposed.
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EHV Confirmed in California Horse
In many horses, the first or only sign of EHV-1 infection is fever, which can go undetected. | Photo: Stephanie L. Church/The Horse
On Nov. 18, officials at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) confirmed a Los Angeles County horse with the non-neuropathogenic strain of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV). On Nov. 13, the 14-year-old American Saddlebred gelding began showing clinical signs, including fever, urine dribbling, and inability to evacuate his bladder. He had been vaccinated and is reported as affected and alive.
The gelding has no recent travel or show history and was last vaccinated for EHV in Feb. 2020.

Sixty-six other horses at the affected horse’s boarding facility were exposed and are under official quarantine. Enhanced biosecurity protocols have been enacted, including temperature monitoring twice daily, and CDFA continues to monitor the facility.

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).

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

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Written by:

Diane Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism from the University of Wisconsin, then married her education with her lifelong passion for horses by working in editorial positions at Appaloosa Journal for 12 years. She has also served on the American Horse Publications’ board of directors. She now freelances in writing, editing, and proofreading. She lives in Middleton, Idaho, and spends her spare time gardening, reading, serving in her church, and spending time with her daughters, their families, and a myriad of her own and other people’s pets.

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