Articles: Press Release
Nation's First Case of Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) for 2009 Detected in Texas
Contact:
Texas Animal Health Commission
Box l2966 * Austin, Texas 78711 * (800) 550-8242 * FAX (512) 719-0719
Bob Hillman, DVM * Executive Director
For info, contact Carla Everett, information officer, at 1-800-550-8242,
ext. 710, or ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us
The nation's first case of vesicular stomatitis (VS) for 2009 has
been detected in a horse in Starr County, in far south Texas. VS is
a sporadically occurring virus that is endemic to the U.S. Signs of
the disease include blisters, lesions and sloughing of the skin on
the muzzles, tongue, teats and above the hooves of susceptible
livestock, which include horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, deer and some
other species of animals.
"The most recent outbreak was in 2006 limited to Wyoming only, where
17 horses and a dozen cattle on 13 premises were confirmed to have
the virus," said Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas' state veterinarian and head
of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock
and poultry health regulatory agency. "To prevent the spread or
introduction of infection, many states and countries will place
additional entry requirements or restrictions on the movement of
animals from affected states, or portions of the state. Call the
state or country of destination before moving livestock, to ensure
that all entry requirements can be met. Do not risk shipments being
turned away, or worse, spreading disease and facing legal action by
animal health authorities."
"Often horses are the signal, or first, animals to be confirmed with
vesicular stomatitis when the virus is active. If the blisters and
lesions are seen in cattle, sheep, pigs or other cloven-hooved
animals, our first concern is a possible introduction of
foot-and-mouth disease, the most costly and destructive foreign
animal disease. Horses are not susceptible to foot-and-mouth
disease, but anytime blisters or unusual sores are seen, animals
should be examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible."
"Move sick animals away from the remainder of the herd to protect
against disease spread," urged Dr. Hillman. "Do not move sick
animals from the premises, and call your veterinarian or the nearest
Texas Animal Health Commission area office, or the Austin
headquarters at 800-550-8242. Laboratory testing to confirm
infection can be run at no charge to the livestock owner.
"Vesicular stomatitis is painful for affected animals, but usually,
the lesions will heal within two weeks to a month. For some severe
cases, owners may elect to have an infected animal euthanized, to put an
end to the suffering. In dairies, VS infection can lead to a
substantial loss of production," said Dr. Hillman. Treatment of
VS-infected animals consists of supportive care, and antibiotics may
be needed to prevent secondary infections in the open sores. Animal
health officials in nearly all states, including Texas, require
VS-infected animals and their herd mates to be quarantined until at
least 21 days after all lesions have healed. A follow-up examination
of the animals by the state veterinarian's office is required prior
to quarantine release.
VS outbreaks are extremely sporadic, and years may lapse between
cases. Sand flies and black flies are thought to play a role in the
virus transmission, so controlling insects is important. In 2005,
the VS outbreak involved livestock on at least 445 premises in nine
states, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New
Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. In 2004, affected animals were
detected in eight counties each in Texas and New Mexico and in 22
Colorado counties. Before the 2004 outbreak, VS had been "silent"
since 1998, when Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas had cases.
More information about VS and a map showing the location of Starr
County in Texas are available on the TAHC web site at:
http://www.tahc.state.tx.us.
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