As of yesterday, November 27, 2006, all the Utah premises quarantined for EVA have been released. It has been 5 months to the day since we were first notified by New Mexico of our exposure to the disease. Over 25 premises have been effected by quarantine at some point during that 5 months. Several Utah stallions have become shedders of the virus.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food held a meeting with concerned veterinarians and industry people October 24, 2006. A Working Group was appointed to make recommendations concerning the control of EVA in Utah. The Working Group met November 20, 2006 and has made their recommendations.

The Working Group recommended that vaccination and education should be key elements of the control effort. Dr. Clell Bagley is working on producing a pamphlet for that purpose. The Department intends to maintain a booth at the Horse Expo on March 9-11, 2007, to help educate the public concerning this disease. Vaccination of prospective stallions prior to 270 days of age is recommended. It is important to vaccinate all stallions, but stallions over 270 days of age should be tested twice, 10 days apart, prior to vaccination in order to verify that the stallion has not been exposed to the disease prior to vaccination. The status of that stallion should then be registered. Additional vaccine should become available in January. It would be wise to order the vaccine now. Stallions that are not vaccinated should be maintained under strict bio-security.

The Working Group agreed the Department should establish a stallion registry to provide a third party verification of the EVA status of stallions used for breeding purposes. A Stallion Registry Form has been developed and is available to veterinarians from the Department for that purpose. Once the disease is thought not to be circulating in the general population, control of the disease should focus on handling of infected semen and stallions that are shedders of the virus as well as vaccination. This will be done through certification of premises that handle infected semen and/or shedding stallions. The Department is in the process of drafting rules regarding the establishment of the stallion registry and the certification requirements for premises interested in handling infected semen or shedding stallions.

A dinner meeting for veterinarians is scheduled for December 12, 2006 at 5:30 PM at Thanksgiving Point. The Meeting is sponsored by UVMA and Fort Dodge. Dr. Peter Timoney from Gluck Institute at the University of Kentucky in Lexington will speak on EVA. A Fort Dodge representative will speak as well. The Department intends to have a draft of the proposed rule available for distribution at the meeting. The veterinary portion of the meeting will be followed by a meeting for the general public. More details are available from the UVMA.



L. Earl Rogers, DVM
Acting State Veterinarian
email: erogers@utah.gov
PH: 801-538-7162
FAX: 801-538-7169