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A barn at Laurel Park still remains closed after a horse diagnosed with equine herpes was euthanized earlier this month.
Nin, a two-year-old filly, was diagnosed with equine herpes virus on Nov. 12 after displaying neurological signs. Equine herpes virus occurs from nose-to-nose contact or contaminated hands, equipment, feed and water. It causes upper respiratory infection and can lead to neurological disease which does what to the horse?, but it is not believed to pose any risk to humans. The horse was euthanized on Nov. 14.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture placed a 21-day hold order following the last clinical evidence of the virus. Only horses from Laurel and the Bowie Training Center are allowed into the barns until Dec. 6.
Upper Marlboro resident and horse trainer Walter Jenkins said equine herpes can be devastating for horse owners and trainers that run small operations.
"When you take your horses to the different tracks you don't know what they may contract," he said. "It's sad for trainers that have one to two horses because something like this can wipe them out."
Mike Gathagan, vice president of communications for the Maryland Jockey Club, said horses from Bowie are allowed entry and leave because the MJC is responsible for shuttling them from Bowie to Laurel Park.
Gathagan said horses from other sites will be allowed to race, but must remain stabled at Laurel until the hold is lifted.
The MDA tested all the other horses at Laurel Park's Barn 1, and all 20 samples came up negative. The other 40 horses at Laurel Park were also tested and had no diagnosis of the virus.
"It's actually a virus that a lot of horses have. It's when it turns to a neurological form…that's when it can become deadly to animals," said Sue DuPont, a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman.
Response times to outbreaks will be faster now, DuPont said as the department's Animal Health Diagnostic Lab in College Park received the technology to run blood samples last summer. Previously, blood samples were sent to Kentucky or New York. DuPont said this was the first time samples sent to the lab tested positive.
"While we never like to see it, it's a positive we can respond to it quickly and prevent more cases," she said.
In January 2006, an equine herpes virus outbreak started at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore before spreading to Laurel Park, a farm in Kent County and the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton. By March 2006 six horses were euthanized, including one at Laurel Park.
DuPont said that the virus has tended to pop up once a year for the last few years.
"We're not seeing a higher rate here in Maryland, just a greater awareness about it in general," she said.
Despite vaccination paperwork being required at the various races, Jenkins said he is still suspicious about the outbreaks of the virus.
"Where's it coming from?" he said. "There's some corner they're leaving out, some issues they're not addressing that's causing this to happen."
E-mail Timmy Gelles at tgelles@gazette.net.
