Fairgrounds sterilized for equine herpes virus
File Photo: The Coulee City Last Stand Rodeo is going on this weekend as planned and officials will post animal health precautions at the event.
MOSES LAKE - Some areas of the Grant County Fairgrounds were recently sterilized with bleach and water as a preventative measure against equine herpes virus.
Areas cleaned include places horses would have touched or been around if they were infected, said fairgrounds Manager Vern Cummings.
The cleaning was not required, but performed as a precaution, he said.
The fairgrounds is not under quarantine and hasn't received any reports about sick horses at the facility.
Three horse events at the fairgrounds were rescheduled, with the next event taking place June 10-11.
"Most of the folks volunteered not to come here because of their concern too," Cummings said.
Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter said the organizations rescheduled their events on their own.
The contagious animal disease was traced to a horse from Washington state that attended the National Cutting Association event in Ogden, Utah, sometime between April 30 and May 8, according to Dr. Leonard Eldridge, the Washington State Veterinarian.
Eldridge suggested that horse owners that attended the Utah event isolate their animals. He did not stop or restrict movement of animals.
Other cases were reported on Utah, Colorado, Idaho and in other areas.
There were six positive cases in Washington state and, as of Wednesday, there were no confirmed deaths.
The virus is spread through the air and horses leaving nasal secretions on equipment, tack, feed and other surfaces, according to the state veterinarian.
The Equine Herpes Virus is a contagious viral disease of horses that can cause respiratory disease, abortion and occasionally neurological disease, according to the University of Wisconsin.
Symptoms include a lack of coordination and the inability for a horse to stand. Symptoms usually show in about three to seven days after exposure.
There is a vaccine available, according to the university.
Humans cannot catch the disease, but they can spread the disease through fomites on feed, clothing, boots, hands, etc.
Cassie Skone, of Warden, said she quarantined her own horse because he was at the Appleatchee facility in Wenatchee.
A Wenatchee woman, Shannon Needell, believed her horse was exposed to equine herpes virus at the Utah event, according to a May 19 Wenatchee World article. Needell's horse stayed at Appleatchee, according to the article.
The Appleatchee Riders Grounds was closed through June 12 because of the virus, according to the organization's website.
Skone said she was "just being a responsible horse owner" and most of the shows they were going to were canceled anyway.
"My daughter has rising lessons in Moses Lake three days a week and we're not even going to that," she said.
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