VESICULAR STOMATITIS (VS) CONFIRMED IN
TWO UTAH HORSES

Tests conducted by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa have confirmed the finding of vesicular stomatitis (VS) in two horses in Utah. One of the horses is located on a premise in Garfield County and the other horse is located in Davis County. VS is primarily a livestock disease that is not easily transmitted to humans. Both horses are alive and are expected to recover.

The confirmation of the disease has prompted a mandatory quarantine of the infected locations by Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) State Veterinarian, Dr. Mike Marshall.
In April and May of this year, horses in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico have also tested positive for vesicular stomatitis. VS is a viral disease that primarily affects cattle, horses, and swine.

This disease also occasionally affects sheep and goats. Humans can also become infected with vesicular stomatitis when handling affected animals.

It is essential that veterinarians and livestock owners be on the alert for animals displaying clinical signs characteristic of the disease such as lesions in the mouth and on the dental pad, tongue, lips, nostrils, hooves, and teats. These blisters leave raw tissue that is so painful that infected animals generally refuse to eat or drink and show signs of lameness. Severe weight loss usually follows, and in dairy cows, a severe drop in milk production commonly occurs.

While vesicular stomatitis can cause economic losses to livestock producers, it is a particularly significant disease because its outward signs are similar to those of foot-and-mouth disease, a foreign
animal disease of cloven-hoofed animals that was eradicated from the United States in 1929.

Humans can contract vesicular stomatitis when handling affected animals if proper biosafety methods are not followed. Prevalence of this disease in humans may be underreported because it may often go undetected or be misdiagnosed. In people, vesicular stomatitis causes an acute influenza-like illness with symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, headache, and malaise.

There is no specific treatment or cure for vesicular stomatitis. Owners can protect their animals from this disease by avoiding congregation of animals in the vicinity where vesicular stomatitis has occurred. Good sanitation and quarantine practices on affected farms usually contain the infection until it dies out of its own accord. Owners are encouraged to control biting insects such as black flies and other flying and/or biting insects.

For additional information on vesicular stomatitis please refer to the following APHIS Web page:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ncahs/nsu/surveillance/vsv/vsv.htm