Management strategies for reducing the risk of equines contracting Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in the Western United States

TitleManagement strategies for reducing the risk of equines contracting Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in the Western United States
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsPeck DE, Reeves WK, Pelzel-McCluskey A, Derner J.D, Drolet B, Cohnstaedt LW, Swanson DA, McVey D, Rodriguez LL, Peters DC
JournalJournal of Equine Veterinary Science
Start Page103026
Date Published05/2020
ARIS Log Number371908
KeywordsBiting midges, Black flies, Horse, Sand flies, Vector-borne disease
Abstract

Vesicular stomatitis viruses (VSV) cause a condition known as vesicular stomatitis (VS), which results in painful lesions in equines, cattle, swine, and camelids, and when transmitted to humans can cause flu-like symptoms. When animal premises are affected by VS, they are subject to a quarantine. The equine industry more broadly may incur economic losses due to interruptions of animal trade and transportation to shows, competitions, and other events. Equine owners, barn managers, and veterinarians can take proactive measures to reduce the risk of horses contracting VS. To identify appropriate risk management strategies, it helps to understand which biting insects are capable of transmitting the virus to animals, and to identify these insect vectors’ preferred habitats and behaviors. We make this area of science more accessible to equine owners, barn managers, and veterinarians, by: (1) translating the most relevant scientific information about biting insect vectors of VSV, and (2) identifying practical management strategies that might reduce the risk of equines contracting VSV from infectious biting insects or from other equines already infected with VSV. We address transmission risk at four different spatial scales—the animal, the barn/shelter, the barnyard/premises, and the surrounding environment/neighborhood—noting that a multi-scale and spatially collaborative strategy may be needed to reduce the risk of VS.

URLfiles/bibliography/20-017.pdf
DOI10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103026