2007 PRESS RELEASES

February 28, 2007
PUBLIC HORSE AUCTIONS AND SALES CANCELLED IN VIRGINIA THROUGH MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007
Contact: Elaine Lidholm, 804.786.7686

Effective immediately, Dr. Richard Wilkes, State Veterinarian with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, has cancelled all public horse sales and auctions throughout the Commonwealth through Monday, March 5, 2007. This is one of the continuing efforts to stop the spread of Equine Herpes Virus-1 (EHV-1) currently present in Northern Virginia.

The cancellation order is effective statewide. While EHV-1 is not harmful to humans, people can spread it on their shoes or with their vehicles, and an infected horse at an event could infect other horses, which would then carry the disease back to their points of origin.

The ban will remain in effect until March 5 unless extended by the State Veterinarian. The Department's Web site, www.vdacs.virginia.gov, has additional information about EHV-1. A “Read more” box on the homepage will take you directly into the EHV-1 site.

In other news, an additional test result came back negative today on a horse from Fauquier County. This brings the total test results to five positives and two negatives to date.