July 2002

Rhino Claims Three Horses In Virginia

A neurological form of the EHV/rhino virus caused problems severe enough to require euthanasia.

The University of Kentucky confirmed that the illness that caused the euthanasia of three horses in late April at Fox Chase Farm in Middleburg, Va., was EHV-1 (equine herpes virus type 1/rhinopneumonitis). The horses had severe neurological problems that generated quite a bit of discussion in the media and among horse owners. Unfortunately, much of that included misinformation, some half-truths and some wrong assumptions.

Myth: Neurological herpes/rhinopneumonitis is rare. This depends on what you mean by “rare.” If you compare the neurological form of the disease that claimed these horses to the level of exposure to EHV, which is virtually 100%, and the number of horses that develop respiratory disease or…