Equine virus found in Ventura County, prompts group to cancel fair horse shows
An animal virus outbreak that has reached Ventura County has brought cancellations of two horse shows at the August county fair and could bring precautions for other events involving animals, a fair official said Tuesday.
The most recent alert, on June 22 from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, shows 35 confirmed sites where vesicular stomatitis virus has been found in six Southern California counties along with 68 suspected sites, primarily targeting horses. The report lists Ventura as an infected county and state officials said Wednesday there is one confirmed site where the virus was found and another suspected site. Both cases involve only horses.
The properties have been quarantined with no details given on their locations.
The virus is not often fatal but is highly contagious and is believed to be spread via direct contact between an infected animal with a lesion or by flies that have bitten an infected animal with an open wound.
"It's not something to freak out about and panic about but it's something to be aware of," said Dr. Emily Nietrzeba, veterinary equine specialist with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The possible spread has generated concern about events where animals from different ranches are brought together. The worries pushed the Ventura County Cattlemen's Association to call off their ranch riding and team sorting events for the county fair that begins Aug. 2. Bev Bigger, the association's board president, said the group was told by a state veterinarian that the event would have required steps, including every horse being checked by an on-site veterinarian.
"It would have been a financial and logistical nightmare, not to mention that no one wants to take their horse and have it get sick," she said.
The virus can infect cattle but they have emerged in only 2 of 103 confirmed or suspected sites in the current outbreak compared to 100 sites with infected horses. VSV can even more rarely infect swine, sheep, goats, llamas and other animals including a rhinoceros infected in San Diego County.
It’s possible for people to get infected but that rarely happens and symptoms are often more mild than in horses.
Signs of the illness in animals include excessive saliva and blister-like lesions in the mouth or elsewhere. The symptoms draw alarm because of the similarity to foot-and-mouth disease, a foreign condition believed to be eradicated in the United States. Ranchers contend their animals are safe at their barns but worry about VSV spreading at private or public events that draw contestants from ranches across the region.
"They're being canceled all over Ventura and Los Angeles counties," said Dr. Katie Nenneker, a veterinarian with NENN Equine in the Santa Rosa Valley.
The virus has not stopped plans for rodeos at the county fair on Aug. 11-13, Fairgrounds CEO Jen McGuire said Tuesday in a fair board meeting, noting event operator will have special protocols in place to minimize risks. She also said the junior livestock auction and other livestock competition and shows will go on. A special planning meeting may be held in regards to the virus.
“The state can say stop having all shows. Right now, that’s not happening,” McGuire said. “It’s basically up to the fairgrounds.”
Nietrzeba said fairs and similar events need to be vigilant about checking animals for open lesions but noted that such protocols are routine.
"They should be fine to continue," she said.
The fair is also still more than a month away, meaning the outbreak could be over by the time livestock events begin, she said.
"This," McGuire said of the planning and precautions, "may be a moot point."
Tom Torres, manager of Aliso Ranch Stables in Santa Paula, said he's taking the virus seriously, quarantining his horses for five days when they leave the ranch. He's also taking other steps to make sure the virus doesn't enter the site.
If that happens, "the game changes dramatically," he said.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: To see more stories like this, subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Equine virus found in Ventura County, brings show cancellation
