I read the article on how Findlay controlled their outbreak. They successfully controlled it but they had to use a hell of a lot more than just taping off their barns and putting boot dip by the door. I have been reading about how viruses work. And I still think the person in charge of how this was handled was too lax.
Thanks, NRB, I did read the article this morning after posting last night. My sources are telling me that this article is putting a good “spin” on things - that, in fact, there is a positive filly stabled in Fair Hill Training Center but she is not neurologic so far. Don’t know who to believe.
seaoat…I am sorry that this posting thread appears to be so heated and perhaps not so productive, that was not my intention. I apologize.
I do not know what the protocols at the race track are, but you should know that my concern is the timing. as i indicated in my post, timing is incredibly important. the horse that was transported to the farm in kent county arrived at Pimlico on january 8th and went to KC on the 10th.i may be incorrect, but at THAT time, i don’t believe it was a full blown outbreak. there was 1 death, a second to be reported on the 13th. the facility was not in a full shut down. the way that the STATE handled it was on a barn/barn basis…maybe not so smart in retrospect, given that it has now affected 3 barns, two other facilities (penn national/ laurel) and of course kent county.
I agree with your comments on symptoms and the shedding of the virus. what went wrong was that the owner of our farm was not notified of suspected herpes until 1/19. the press on pimlico did not go full tilt until that weekend, which prompted the track to close the facility down (good, but too late on the 21st).
i totally agree that the state did not handle this outbreak appropriately which is why i am saying that notice is so important. given that we are talking about a span of almost 3 weeks between the first death (1/2) and the closure by maryland racing, my focus is on the actions of all in those first and critical couple of days after 1/2 and 1/9 when it was confirmed ehv-1. that had to be the time of the transmission because the horse left on the 10th. the filly that went to kc md was in barn A.
the state vet,(whom i have spoken at length) pointed directly to barn a as having transmission from FLA, which has since been corrected (which is not the case based upon the virus typing)and blew off my concerns about how easily this virus can spread based upon the casual interaction of the horse.
ok, now back to my question which is the required notice to owners/ managers when the virus is known to be present (actual date known was the 9th, horse transported to kc, md on the 10th) if there had been notification, this would not have occurred.
the devil is in the details and i have spent the last 2 weeks reading and speaking to a lot of people regarding this situation (much before my horse was even sick)and learning as much as i can about this disease. I have spoken several times to Dr. Allen in KY regarding how our information and tracking of the horses at our barn can help his research and have sent him that data… there are lessons that we can learn here, I would just like to see if we can figure out what they are…together.
Originally posted by Evalee Hunter:
I understand there is a new case at Fair Hill Training Center & the Training Center is under state police guard to prevent horses from entering or leaving.
I haven’t heard about that, but I am sure by the end of the weekend we should have someone respond to that.
SeaOat, I didn’t mean to start a fight over here. I am truly sorry for what you’ve gone through, and I really don’t think you’re heartless.
Hold Ordered on Maryland Farm for Suspected EHV-1 Cases
Date Posted: 1/26/2006 8:11:50 PM
Last Updated: 1/26/2006 10:58:17 PM
(from Maryland Jockey Club release)
Suspected cases of equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) caused the Maryland State Veterinarian to place an “Investigational Animal Hold Order” Jan. 26 on a private farm in Kent County.
The farm is used as an off-track training facility for a Pimlico-based trainer, but the state veterinarian office said it would not identify the farm or its location.
The farm received a horse from Pimlico on Jan. 10 before track officials closed movement to and from the facility. The Maryland Department of Agriculture is waiting for test results, which are expected next week, to determine the cause of illness for one horse euthanized Jan. 26 and another showing neurologic signs.
“This new occurrence is extremely unfortunate and we are working closely with everyone involved and using the best science available in the equine research community to prevent any possible spread of illness,” said Guy Hohenhaus, Maryland state veterinarian. “It is believed that this incident is not a distinctly new case. We encourage horse owners with concerns to contact their private veterinarian to determine if a vaccination or booster is recommended for their horses at this time.”
Updates will be posted daily on the MDA Web site.
Copyright © 2006 The Blood-Horse, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Not to lighten the seriousness of this issue, but this made me chuckle. I ride at the Bowie Training Facility in MD. Last week our trainer was torn whether or not to run. I ride a string of about ten everyday.We have about 35 in the barn. One of them is a nice colt going into his second race. I really wanted to see how he ran but didn’t want to risk his health of course. So he ran…didn’t finish great. Today was his first day back in training. Every groom takes temps before horses train. My groom throws me up and says " Not sure if the boss wants to train his temp is 104." So I call the boss and dismount. We put him back and start thinking about where to isolate him. Turns out the groom…who is spanish wasn’t very clear in his speech and the colt’s temp was only 100.4! PHEW! You should have seen us. We have tried to do everything to prevent the spread of the disease which isn’t even at our facility. Can never be too careful. This definitely made me chuckle this morning.
Originally posted by SeaOat:
JaGold: Whan in hell are you talking about??? Moral authority? Get a grip, I just helped take care of the horses.
I didn’t mean to post the last part, as evidenced by the incomplete sentance. I’m ticked off but (thought) I’d thought the better of saying so. Technology got the best of me and I apparently hit post before delete. I’ve now edited the post.
Again we ask: Does ALL showing/eventing/hunting, etc. cease when the show world has an outbreak?
No, it doesn’t. And no one has suggested that ALL racing should shut down. Only that the facility affected should be under quarantine, which IS the standard to which show facilities are held. (Evidence Columbia Horse Center, as well as the immediate quarantine at Kim’s barn.) Want to tell me where I’ve said that all racing should be shut down?
I answered your question, so here’s one for you. Do you think that Plimco should have been subject to quarantine when EVH-1 was diagnosed? (Note that I’m NOT asking whether racing should have been shut down across the state of MD.)
Finally, what does the price of the horse have to do with anything? Why does it matter that your Fjord is “pricey?” If for some reason it does matter to you, I’m sure that Kim’s four star, has-been-around-Rolex horse is also “pricey.” Which is so completely not the point. --Jess
The horse from Penn National was taken off the grounds as soon as she began showing symptoms and is isolated in a private facility all by herself. Her recovery has been very rough, but they think she will survive at this point. She will never race again.
As soon as they suspected there was a problem they immediately quarantined the affected barn and also closed the stable area. Horses on the grounds that were not in the affected barn are allowed to race, but no one comes or goes, PERIOD. That is how you handle an outbreak IMO. They are going to be over and done with before MD is and they started two weeks later than us. This is so frustrating!
JaGold: Whan in hell are you talking about??? Moral authority? Get a grip, I just helped take care of the horses.
The STATE vet allowed racing to continue and most EVERYONE else went out of their way to keep it from spreading, from hotwalkers on up. I think we learned from our mistakes and did well to recover from them. It could have been worse. Everyone thought his decision, at the time, was a good one. To have shut down all of Pimlico AFTER sick & exposed horses had shed the virus BEFORE ever showing syptoms was moot. Should Frock been allowed to run days after the first was euthanized of his? IMO, no. But well BEFORE his horse died it had already exposed others abroad who ran at Laurel. Not to mention work & gos in & out of Pimlico to farms mixed with non-racing stock.
Again we ask: Does ALL showing/eventing/hunting, etc. cease when the show world has an outbreak? I boarded our pricey Fjord (& loved family member) at a facility (show) two years ago and she was exposed, thanks to the comings and goings of show animals that had been competing w/ a MD barn in quar’t. Hmmm.
How ridiculous that you think I’m referring to the deaths as “bloops” and not the MISTAKES made in the handling of the outbreak. Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt. I just assumed most people know bloops (bloopers, flubs, goofs, etc) means mistakes or f’ups.
FYI, my SO is the vet who took care of the first horse euthanized and half a dozen of the ones that survived. I myself helped in the afternoons & grew quite fond of a couple of them & am concerned of their future homes.
We also arranged for antiviral meds to be taken to Kent Co. farm in hopes any further horses exposed might have a better chance.
No one, outside of those immediatly caring for the horse of Delozier’s, knew the horse shipping out to Kent Co had been exposed (btw, we don’t treat Delozier) but your friend who accepted the horse certainly saw MD racetracks were having an outbreak, no? I personally would not have accepted a horse onto my farm from the track BUT I am very sorry for the loss and too found it appalling (as did many of us) that her “friend” would ship a potentially exposed horse to some poor show barn less educated on the subject. Hope the antivirals helped the others…
Edited to ad: When show horse facilities are experiencing outbreaks, do they stop all showing/hunting/endurance events or simply try to confine the known effected areas?
We came close to shutting down racing but made, what I consider to be, a good choice and held racing with a watchful eye. When you take in all the BROAD reaching facilities/horses off the tracks that come in contact with a racing animal/caretaker it is pretty amazing it was this minimal.
