The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has been notified of two confirmed cases of equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM), a neurologic disease caused by equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1).

The horses from Durham Region were referred to the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College with neurologic signs and are receiving treatment. Three other horses on the farm have tested positive for the mutated (neuropathogenic) strain of EHV-1 on nasal swabs but are not demonstrating neurologic signs at this time. The farm owner has voluntarily placed the premises under quarantine to reduce the risk of viral spread.

These are the first cases of EHM diagnosed in Ontario this year; however, cases of EHM have been diagnosed in California, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Michigan since the beginning of the year. In 2015, there were three laboratory-confirmed cases of EHM in Ontario

Equine herpesvirus-1 infection can cause respiratory disease, abortion, neonatal foal death, and/or neurologic disease in horses. It is not a federally reportable disease, but is immediately notifiable by laboratories under the reporting regulation of the provincial Animal Health Act. Attending veterinarians suspicious of EHM should contact OMAFRA as soon as possible

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