A surge in nocardioform placentitis—type of placental infection that results in late-term abortion or small, underdeveloped foals—cases in Central Kentucky’s 2011 foal crop caused concern among practitioners, farm owners and managers, the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UKVDL), and the horse industry media. Following that year, the number of confirmed cases dropped to levels typically seen in the state. The 2016 foal crop saw a small increase in cases in February 2016, but then case counts dropped quickly.

However, the UKVDL has seen an increase in confirmed nocardioform placentitis cases in the 2017 foal crop, starting with 10 abortions in December 2016 compared to zero abortions in December 2015. In the first two weeks of January 2017, the UKVDL has already had confirmed eight nocardioform placentitis abortions, with more pending.