SICK HORSE
Oklahoma agriculture officials have isolated a horse in Tillman County that has the state's first confirmed case of vesicular stomatitis virus in more than 20 years.
FREDERICK—A horse confirmed to be suffering from a virus that can be spread to other animals and, in rare cases, humans, is being isolated at its Tillman County premises, state agricultural officials announced Tuesday.
A release issued by the agency said inv es ti gators confirmed the horse is suffering from vesicular stomatitis virus, also known as VSV. Officials said the viral disease can affect horses, donkeys, mules, cattle and swine and exhibits initial symptoms of excessive salivation and a reluctance to eat or drink.
Other clinical signs of the disease include vesicles, erosion sand sloughing of the skin on the muzzle, tongue, ears, teats and coronary bands of their hooves, and later lameness or weight loss.
Officials said an animal's body temperature also may rise immediately before or at the same time lesions first appear.
VSV has been reported so far in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming and now Oklahoma in what has been the first U.S. outbreak of the disease since 2015-2016.
The last time a horse suffered from VSV in Oklahoma before now was in the 1990s, officials said.
While VS V primarily affects horses and cattle, humans also can become infected, though such instances are very rare. VSV normally takes two to eight days to incubate before an infected animal develops blisters that swell and burst, leaving painful sores.
The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals or by blood-feeding insects.
Infected animals are isolated for 14 days after clinical signs of the disease are observed and a diagnosis is confirmed to prevent the spread of the virus to other premises, fairs or markets.
Animal owners can' t vaccinate their herds to protect them from this virus. But they can help improve t heir chances of avoiding it by not visiting locations where an animal with t he virus is isolated.
They also are encouraged to control their animals' exposure to biting flies by keeping them stalled or under a roof at night, to keep their stalls clean and to feed and water stock using individual buckets.
Veterinarians and livestock owners who suspect VSV in their animals should immediately contact the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry state veterinarian at 522-6141.