Barn quarantined after equine herpesvirus positive

A barn at Laurel Park has been placed under quarantine after a horse previously stabled in the barn tested positive on a nasal swab for equine herpesvirus, a highly contagious disease, according to the parent company of the track.

The quarantine was placed on the barn after the removal of a racehorse on Sunday that was exhibiting “neurological abnormalities” in its hind end, a symptom of equine herpesvirus. A stable pony that was in “close proximity” to the symptomatic racehorse was also removed to an isolation barn on the property, according to Dr. Dionne Benson, the chief medical officer of 1/ST Racing, which owns Laurel.

The symptomatic horse later tested positive for exposure to the virus in a nasal swab, but Laurel is waiting on a confirmatory blood test, according to Benson. The horse is in stable condition and has not spiked a fever, Benson said.

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At present, Laurel is not placing any restrictions on movement into or out of the Laurel backstretch, according to Benson. Horses in the quarantine barn are expected to be allowed to train, but they will do so in isolation from the other horses on the backstretch, provided the Maryland state veterinarian approves the plan, Benson said.

“We caught it pretty early, and it was contained pretty quickly,” Benson said.

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