Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Viral disease spreads rapidly in Colorado, forcing ranch quarantines

Shiners Dun Juan is decked neck to tail in mesh to protect the champion reining horse from black flies buzzing around his stable. Owner Janiejill Tointon has sprayed the horse with insecticide and spread diatomaceous earth around his stable to keep the stinging pests away. But she can only hope that her six-figure purse winner won't get sick. The flies are believed responsible for the rapid spread of vesicular stomatitis, or VS, which has sickened more than 200 horses and cows in Colorado and put more than 130 farm and ranch properties under quarantine. Out in the pasture at Tointon's Diamond Double T Ranch west of Niwot is Mia, a chestnut mare whose muzzle is spotted white with healed VS sores. Though Mia and two other horses that contracted the virus are well, the ranch will stay quarantined for about three more weeks — unless more of Tointon's 45 horses show symptoms. Infected animals — usually horses and cattle but sometimes sheep, goats, alpaca and swine — mostly get blisters on the mouth, tongue and sometimes hooves, though dairy cows can get sores on their udders. Though rarely fatal, the virus makes eating and drinking tough, so the animals lose weight. In serious cases, horses can slough off skin and even hooves, or need feeding tubes and IVs. Treatment can cost owners thousands of dollars. Tointon, a breeder, said the shutdown is costing her money and customers...more

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