OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Agriculture Department says three horses in the state now have been confirmed to have a highly contagious disease called equine herpes virus (EHV-1).
Spokesman Jason Kelly said Thursday the first horse is still at the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman and the other two are isolated in Thurston and Chelan counties.
All three were among 34 horses from Washington at a National Cutting Horse Association event early this month in Ogden, Utah, where the disease apparently spread.
Kelly says blood samples from three more horses are being tested.
Some horse events are being canceled as a precaution, including a 4H show May 28 at the Jefferson County fairgrounds. The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Posse is pulling out of Saturday’s Armed Forces Day Parade in Bremerton.
