Horse herpes spreading quickly in the West

SALT LAKE CITY — A deadly strain of a fast-spreading horse virus that's shown up in nine Western U.S. states and two Canadian territories has forced the cancellation of a series of events and caused horse owners everywhere to worry.

While cases of the disease - known as the equine herpes virus EHV-1 - may have doubled in just the last week alone, humans need not worry. It does not jump between species.

So far, the virus has been blamed for the deaths of at least 12 horses since the outbreak began in early May at a cutting horse competition in Ogden, Utah. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed 75 cases in nine Western states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington, USDA officials said. Cases of the virus have also been confirmed in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

The most immediate effect of the outbreak has been the widespread cancellation of horse-related events. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management asked horse owners to keep their animals off federal lands if there was any possibility they'd been exposed to the virus.

Horse events have been canceled in a number of states, but others are going ahead as scheduled, including the College National Finals Rodeo scheduled June 11-18 in Casper, Wyo., and the Reno Rodeo June 16-25.

Last week, contestants vying for the title of "posse junior queen" in one Utah county were forced to ride stick horses to demonstrate their cowgirl skills.

Use of the pretend horses, made of straight sticks and fabric horse heads, comes as some other horse events scheduled for the Memorial Day weekend in Utah were cancelled.

As of last Friday, there were 75 confirmed cases of the virus in the nine states and horses at 61 facilities are suspected of being infected, the USDA said. A week ago, there were 34 confirmed cases and 9 horses had died, while 46 facilities were impacted.

Because the virus isn't new and the outbreak seems to be running its expected course, Rink said she expects "horses will be back to their normal lives" in about a week. But she hoped that horse owners and event organizers would learn from this outbreak and remain diligent about monitoring their horses' health to prevent future outbreaks.

"It's definitely a cause for concern, but not a reason for panic," Rink said. "Our focus is preventing those infected horses stay put and don't infect other horses."

Another event cancelled was the National Pony Express Association's annual reenactment. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night could keep Pony Express riders from their appointed rounds, so the story goes. But a deadly horse virus is another matter.

For the first time in its 32-year history, the National Pony Express Association is postponing its annual reenactment of the famous ride from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento this summer due to viral outbreak.

The 10-day ride is being pushed from June to August.

"It is kind of ironic," Jim Swigart, the group's president, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "All these things they dealt with in the 1860s we still deal with on the re-ride today — hard rains, floods, all the natural disasters Mother Nature can throw at you. But here with this virus scare, it's really a no-brainer. It had to be done. The consensus is, it isn't worth the risk."