Horse at Laurel Park tests positive for highly contagious virus

A racehorse at Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County tested positive Monday for a highly contagious virus.

The barn where the horse infected with Equine Herpesvirus-1 was living also houses 104 other horses and is now under quarantine, the Maryland Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

Maryland Jockey Club interim President Mike Rogers and Chief Veterinary Officer Dionne Benson said in a joint statement that the club moved the infected horse and another who had been close to an isolation barn, and added that regular racing will not be impacted.

“The barn in which the horse was located has been placed on a hold order by the department, prohibiting movement on or off the premises until any exposed horses have been cleared for release,” the agriculture department said in a news release. “Possible links to the positive EHV-1 equine are actively being investigated.”

EHV-1 primarily causes upper respiratory disease and in some cases leads to a neurological disease that can be fatal, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, and clinically affected horses should be assumed to have been contagious, particularly via the respiratory route, for at least 14 days. Infection can be spread through horse-to-horse contact as well as oral or nasal exposure to contaminated surfaces, and the virus is not a risk to humans.

The department said the horses’ owners should contact their private veterinarians for testing. The jockey club said any horses with fever above 101.5 degrees or exhibiting signs of incoordination must be reported to a jockey club veterinarian.

The jockey club said horses in the barn will train separately from the general population while other barns continue regular racing and training activities.