CONTAINMENT efforts are being undertaken at Badminton Horse Trials after it emerged that a hunt horse in the stables had equine herpes virus (EHV).

A case of the potentially deadly and contagious virus has been confirmed in a horse of the Duke of Beaufort's Hunt – in the same stables which will house the world's top eventers which starts on May 2.

The organisers are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

"We are consulting biosecurity advisors from the Animal Health Trust," said Badminton's Hugh Thomas.

"This is so we can ensure a secure environment for the international event horses, which are not due to come here for another six weeks."

This outbreak is not isolated to the area – more recently it has been discovered in a horse in Aberdeenshire.

British Dressage has been working closely with the organisers of the winter championships to put necessary precautionary measures in place as a result of the EHV- 1 outbreak in Gloucestershire.

"Based on the advice, the championships will go ahead. We will be putting in place a range of bio-security measures to minimise the risk of spreading any disease," said a spokesperson.

A horse can carry the herpes virus without showing any signs and it is believed that most older horses have been exposed to it at some point. A blood test is available to see if a horse has recently been exposed to the virus, although the test cannot tell the difference between the antibodies caused by the virus and those caused by vaccination.

There are vaccines currently available that work against both strains of EHV, including a combined vaccine, which also acts against equine flu. However, although the vaccines are effective against the respiratory effects of the virus, they are not registered for use against the paralytic form.

The Animal Health Trust advises that only healthy horses be vaccinated, and that horses should not be vaccinated during an on-going outbreak of EHV. This is to reduce the chance of a horse, which is currently incubating the virus, receiving the vaccine.

Vivienne Irwin of the Animal Health Trust says: "Although the vaccine is very safe to use, if a horse is currently incubating the virus, it may lead to the animal suffering a more severe case of the disease.

"It is standard practice that vaccinations should only be carried out on healthy horses. A horse showing any signs of respiratory disease should be thoroughly checked out by a vet."

The equine herpes virus has two main strains: EHV1, which can cause respiratory problems, abortion in pregnant mares and, in rare cases, neurological problems leading to paralysis; and EHV4, which most commonly causes respiratory problems and occasionally abortion in pregnant mares.

Early signs of equine herpes include:

l Increased temperature

l Coughing

l Nasal discharge

l Lack of interested in food

A horse showing these signs should be isolated and a vet called.

To prevent the spread of the disease, all horses who have come in contact with the infected horse should remain on the yard until the vet has confirmed diagnosis.