Nova Scotia has an outbreak of a deadly virus for horses
Because of this, the equestrian competition was canceled.
The equine herpes virus has already killed four horses in Nova Scotia. All of the dead animals were living together. Due to the outbreak, the province has canceled an upcoming equestrian competition.
What kind of disease is this?
The equine herpes virus is dangerous for animals — one in two sick horses dies from it. The disease is also highly contagious. It is spread through the air (when an infected horse coughs), through nasal secretions, or indirectly through water buckets or grooming equipment. People can also spread the virus by coming into contact with a sick horse and then another, healthy horse.
A large percentage of horses are carriers of the virus in its inactive phase. In this sense, equine herpes is similar to human herpes, which can "sleep" in the body for a very long time and not lead to disease.
The location of the outbreak has not been named, but it is known that the dead horses lived somewhere in northern Nova Scotia. According to the expert, the next two weeks will be critical: if no new cases are detected during this time, the virus is likely to be contained.
How can you fight the virus?
Experts also reminded the importance of vaccinating animals. Typically, equine herpes virus causes respiratory disease, and most horses are vaccinated against these forms. The vaccine does not work on the neurological form alone, but vaccination still reduces the circulation of the virus in the population.
Equine herpes virus is not a federally reportable disease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency website states that diseases reported are "are usually of significant importance to human or animal health or to the Canadian economy'. However, some provinces do require such incidents to be reported, such as Ontario.
Many horse owners, farmers and sportsmen, meanwhile, believe that equine herpes virus should be included among the diseases with outbreaks reported at the state level.
