Herpes virus closes National Stud in Newmarket
- Thread starter ILuvCowparsely
- Start date
crabbymare
Well-Known Member
awful but at least its just the isolation unit thats involved and its plenty far enough away from the main site. hope its all over quickly for them and no more come in with it 
Rollin
Well-Known Member
The filly had been vaccinated. How safe is EHV vaccination? I have been told it is not foolproof.
Jinx94
Well-Known Member
EHV is the focus of my exam today.. The literature that I have found has stated that the vaccine doesn't prevent the disease - it just aims to prevent/reduce the severity of the clinical signs. I hope that they manage to clear it quickly, thank goodness they have strict isolation procedures.
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
The vet thought my last horse had EHV 1 (from memory) which is the nuero strain as he was very ataxic. The trouble is that 30% of the horse population carry the EHV virus and they become 'shredders' when they are under undue stress which would tie in with the mare in the article as she had travelled a distance and this was presumably stressful for her as it is for most horses.
With the 30% thing, it is therefore hard to tell if your horse has the disease before the clinical signs become apparent or whether he is just a 'shredder' and is not displaying the virus and is therefore not contagious.
As it turned out my horse had wobblers syndrome. The ataxia is one of the symptoms. Two other horses showed up on the yard (a yard of about 15-20 horses at the time, which proves the 30% theory). They were either swabbed or blood tested, I honestly don't remember which as it was over 12 years ago now and all a haze of worry and desperation as my poor horse was really quite ataxic and wobbling around badly. It took so long for my vets to decide whether it was EHV or not that out of desperation I found out the lab name and rang up pretending to be the veterinary practices receptionist but they found me out! Very naughty I know!
In the end they realised he did not (nor did his stable mates) have the virus per se and he was released to Liverpool Philip Leverhulme Horspital where he was PTS with untreated wobblers.
I was advised before he went to Liverpool that there was a vacinne he could have but as I was so convinced it was wobblers I decided not to go ahead as I felt he would be PTS anyway.
There are two vaccinations available:
(i) Duvaxyn EHV 1,4
(ii) Equilis Resequin – combined influenza and EHV 1,4
Primary vaccination course
1st vaccination
2nd vaccination after 4-6 weeks
Booster vaccinations
Every 6 months
With the 30% thing, it is therefore hard to tell if your horse has the disease before the clinical signs become apparent or whether he is just a 'shredder' and is not displaying the virus and is therefore not contagious.
As it turned out my horse had wobblers syndrome. The ataxia is one of the symptoms. Two other horses showed up on the yard (a yard of about 15-20 horses at the time, which proves the 30% theory). They were either swabbed or blood tested, I honestly don't remember which as it was over 12 years ago now and all a haze of worry and desperation as my poor horse was really quite ataxic and wobbling around badly. It took so long for my vets to decide whether it was EHV or not that out of desperation I found out the lab name and rang up pretending to be the veterinary practices receptionist but they found me out! Very naughty I know!
In the end they realised he did not (nor did his stable mates) have the virus per se and he was released to Liverpool Philip Leverhulme Horspital where he was PTS with untreated wobblers.
I was advised before he went to Liverpool that there was a vacinne he could have but as I was so convinced it was wobblers I decided not to go ahead as I felt he would be PTS anyway.
There are two vaccinations available:
(i) Duvaxyn EHV 1,4
(ii) Equilis Resequin – combined influenza and EHV 1,4
Primary vaccination course
1st vaccination
2nd vaccination after 4-6 weeks
Booster vaccinations
Every 6 months
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ihatework
Well-Known Member
The EHV vaccination would be as 'safe' as any other vaccination. If there were safety risks known it wouldn't be on the market.
Effectiveness is completely different. EHV vaccinations available only offer cover for the respiratory and foetal abbortion strain of the virus, and even then there is bound to be some variation between strains. It does not cover neurological.
Interestingly yesterday my mare had her 9 month EHV vaccination from my local stud vets. Vet commented I was lucky as they had now run out of stock and we're having trouble getting more, some sort of manufacturing issue I think? Anyone else found this?
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
Vacinnes are withdrawn if there is a problem reported. My previous livery yard vacinnated about 20 plus horses and ponies on a group savings zone visit for the strangles vaccine. One horse colicked, another had an enlarged heart as a result and needed a lot of treatment following, and every horse without exception had some kind of reaction. The vet reported it immediately to the drug manufacturer and the batch was withdrawn and tested and they paid for the enlarged heart condition as a result. My vet said he would never use the strangles vaccine again.
ihatework
Well-Known Member
Of course they are (as is any other drug that has safety reports on it). But it is batches not the entire supply of vaccine.
fatpiggy
Well-Known Member
Alec Swan
...
I've nothing but anecdotal evidence, but in my view ALL vaccines carry a risk of reaction, and none more so than Live vaccines. Am I right in saying that those horses which have the Strangles vaccine will be, or will be more likely, 'carriers' of the disease and so considered a risk? We had a mare once who'd never had Strangles but had been vaccinated against it, and before travelling to stud, every time she was tested and every time she threw up positive results with the ensuing guttural pouch checks and sedation and God it was a malarky.
Alec.
Alec.
druid
Well-Known Member
Duvaxyn is in short supply - Tatts back in December had provisions for mares unvaccinated to be shown away from the sales complex etc. Rossdale's had a decent supply last time I checked
Link to article
Link to article
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Birker2020
Well-Known Member
To be honest there are so many things you could vaccinate against that it would cost you a small fortune every 12 months.
And for the majority of horse owners in the UK we are either happy hackers or only competing locally and many of us will never be unfortunate enough to pick up the strangles or EHV virus, so it would be of little benefit to vaccinate against everything.
And for the majority of horse owners in the UK we are either happy hackers or only competing locally and many of us will never be unfortunate enough to pick up the strangles or EHV virus, so it would be of little benefit to vaccinate against everything.
ihatework
Well-Known Member
Sorry, I don't understand your post in the context of the thread.
popsdosh
Well-Known Member
Glad im not the only one. when is your mare due?
I am lucky my mares would not really benefit from the vaccine as they are quarantined most of the year round.
Personally I would be more surprised if NS didnt have 1 or 2 a year they have mares arriving from here there and everywhere thats why they have the isolation unit, just shows its value.
Alec Swan
...
I suppose that the risk of infection or contracting something ghastly, needs to be weighed against the cost and the side effects. With TBs, for instance, be they racing or travelling backwards and forwards to Stud, so precautions will need to be taken. For those, as yours perhaps popsdosh and my former broodmares too, so having little or no contact with others, vaccination against the myriad of possible complaints would seem to some to be needless.
Alec.
Alec.