Churchill barn quarantined after horse tests positive for
equine herpes virus
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has placed a barn in the Churchill
Downs stable area under quarantine after test results confirmed that a horse in
that barn was infected with equine herpes virus (EHV-1), track officials
announced Friday.
Officials with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture have ordered
biosecurity measures in place in Barn 47, which houses horses trained by David
Carroll and Al Stall Jr. The quarantine of that barn was ordered after a
three-year-old Thoroughbred trained by Carroll displayed symptoms of equine
herpes on Thursday. That horse was transported immediately from the grounds at
Churchill Downs and is now under observation an equine hospital. The quarantine
order affects 19 horses in Carroll’s section of the barn, a total that includes
a stable pony, and 16 horses under Stall’s care.
Rusty Ford, the equine programs manager for the office of Kentucky State
Veterinarian Dr. Robert Stout, DVM, said the implementation of the quarantine
and its associated biosecurity measures was ordered in an effort to contain and
isolate any possible EHV-1 cases to that barn and prevent any spread of the
virus among the horse population at Churchill Downs. A firewall separates the
stables assigned to Barn 47.
“The results of tests administered so far have confirmed an equine herpes
infection with neurologic involvement,” Ford said. “Those results suggest to us
that we are dealing with an animal that has a low level of the virus in its
system, and that works to our advantage. If that is the case, the infected horse
would present a lesser risk of transmission of the virus to other horses in the
barn or the general horse population.”
The recommended quarantine period is generally up to 21 days after potential
exposure to the virus. The incubation period for the disease is two to 10 days.
Under the quarantine order, horses may not be moved in or out of those barns
until state agriculture officials clear them to do so.
The quarantine is not expected to have a negative impact on Churchill Downs’
21-day Fall Meet, which opens Sunday and will continue through November 24, as
horses will continue to be permitted to ship in and out of the track to race.
Additional biosecurity measures have been put in place to guard against the
introduction of the virus to the track’s horse population. Those
procedures include:
Increased scrutiny of horses that arrive and depart from the Churchill Downs
barn area, with certificates of veterinary inspection required for all horses
that enter and leave the stable area;
A requirement that horses that ship in to compete during the Fall Meet be
allowed only into the track’s Receiving Barn and Stakes Barn;
Nightly disinfectant procedures in the Receiving Barn and Stakes Barn;
Daily disinfectant procedures on the starting gate;
The track’s horse identifier and starting gate crew will be required to use
latex gloves and follow other recommended disinfectant procedures for their work
areas, equipment and practices;
And daily disinfectant procedures in the paddock following the conclusion of
each day’s racing.
The most recent cases of equine herpes reported at Churchill Downs resulted
in a quarantine order for three of the track’s barns in May, 2005. Churchill
Downs has stalls to accommodate 1,444 horses. The track’s barns are generally
full, as stables have filled those stalls with horses that are scheduled to
participate in the track’s Fall Meet and with ponies used by stables and
outriders during training and racing hours.
Symptoms of equine herpes virus most commonly include fever and an upper
respiratory infection. The symptoms can also include lethargy, loss of appetite,
a nasal discharge and a cough. In severe cases, horses can suffer a loss of
coordination and an inability to stand, and the illness can be fatal.
The disease is a virus, so it can be spread through the air when a horse
coughs — although studies on the virus indicate that it is very short-lived and
is susceptible to disinfectants. The maximum extent of the airborne transmission
of the virus is thought to be 35 feet. Horses may also contract the disease if
they come in contact with the clothing of a person who has worked with an
infected horse, the tack and equipment worn by an infected horse, or a shared
food and water source.
Agriculture Department officials say the disease poses no danger to humans.