A Santa Barbara County (Calif.) gelding tested positive for non-neuropathogenic equine herpesvirus-1, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced on March 25.
“A Welsh Cross gelding in Santa Barbara County displaying neurologic signs on March 20 has been confirmed positive for the non-neuropathogenic strain of Equine Herpesvirus-1,” the CDFA statement said. “A small percentage of non-neuropathogenic EHV-1 infected horses can display neurologic signs and are classified as equine herpes myeloencephalopathy cases.”
Another horse, a warmblood stallion in San Diego County, also tested positive for the non-neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1. Both horses attended the HITS Desert Circuit series in Thermal, Calif.
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The Welsh gelding left the HITS Desert Circuit showgrounds on March 10 from Permanent Barn 2. The stallion departed Tent 29 on March 15. Both horses have been quarantined under veterinary care.
The CDFA recommends horses that may have been exposed to EHV-1 should be isolated and have their temperatures monitored twice daily for 14 days.
