In response to an equine herpesvirus type I (EHV-1) outbreak at Hawthorne Racecourse in Illinois, the Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) announced movement restrictions on horses from Hawthorne, and Illinois in general.

Effective immediately:

• Any horse that has been on the grounds at Hawthorne since Oct 4 is not allowed on any Ontario racetrack until 30 days after Hawthorne’s quarantine is lifted
• All horses from Illinois being shipped into the Woodbine or Fort Erie racetracks must come with a certificate that states "Horses represented on this Certificate of Veterinary Inspection have not originated from a barn or premises that is under quarantine for herpes virus, nor have been exposed to a confirmed or suspect case of herpes virus, nor have shown clinical signs suggestive of herpes virus, nor have been febrile within the previous three weeks."

All other tracks are also advised to be cautious about accepting horses from Illinois, but restrictions are at the discretion of individual facilities.  The ORC is also recommending that all horses from Illinois are examined and their temperatures are taken prior to being admitted to any track.

Basic physical examination and body temperature checking can be great infection control measures when used on a routine basis. Too many sick horses make it onto tracks, show grounds and into sales, and while checking temperature is by no means 100% protective, it’s an easy, cheap and a quick way to identify potentially infectious horses. Yet, it doesn’t happen. Considering the potential implications of a single infectious horse making it onto a track, it doesn’t make sense that more effort isn’t put into routine practices like these. Yes, it would take a couple minutes, but if it prevents one infection (let alone an entire outbreak), it’s worth the minimal effort.

As an aside, I’ve always been baffled why places like yearling sales won’t consider employing such measures –  well, maybe not baffled because sending sick horses home costs the sale money.  But considering how common infectious diseases are in horses after sales, it’s hard to understand why buyers are not pushing sales to do what they can to make sure buyers aren’t spending big money on damaged goods, i.e. sick horses. I’d like to think that a sale could make it a great marketing point by touting their strong infection control program to convince buyers to come and spend their money with less chance of getting a sick horse.

It’s always hard to say what the best approach is for handling EHV infections. On one hand, it’s a very common virus that is lying dormant in the bodies of a large percentage of healthy horses, everywhere. On the other hand, we certainly know outbreaks of serious disease happen and horse-horse contact and movement of horses helps outbreaks spread. These Ontario restrictions are pretty straightforward and common sense, but thought should be given to what other measures can be taken on a routine basis to help reduce the risk of EHV-1 outbreaks from developing in Ontario, and to control the numerous other infectious diseases that affect more horses every year.