News & Events
Equine Rabies: Should You Be Concerned?
Rabies, an uncommon disease in Colorado, began a steep rise starting in 2008. The first case in a horse was confirmed in Douglas County in 2009 and a sharp increase in the number of cases in skunks has been noted in 2010. Just this month, there were reported cases in skunks in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert counties. It is this sudden increase in the disease that is causing health officials and veterinarians to recommend vaccination of horses.
If you look at a U.S. map of the distribution of skunk rabies, it seems to stop right at the eastern Colorado state border. That is not the case anymore. Positive skunk rabies cases have been documented in several eastern Colorado counties. The concern is that the virus is moving westward towards the Front Range of Colorado. Counties along the Front Range are more populous in people and horses and so there is a potential risk to humans, dogs, cats, livestock, and horses.
- In 2005, there were 44 positive cases of rabies; all of these positives were bats.
- In 2006, there were 70 cases of rabies in Colorado - all bats, no skunk cases.
- From January 2007 through August 2008, there have been 18 positive cases of skunk rabies.
- Skunks are the most common species involved in the transmission of rabies virus to horses.
So what’s the deal with rabies?
Is there a need for concern? Maybe not concern as much as proactive prevention. Why?
- The disease is fatal to mammals. In people, the disease is fatal unless treated.
- If your horse gets rabies, and has NOT been vaccinated, it is fatal.
- You must be treated if your horse gets rabies.
- If a horse gets the disease from a skunk or bat, the horse can contaminate you while the horse is acting normal, before showing signs of the disease.
- The incidence of rabies has increased considerably in Colorado over the past two years.
- Two cases were confirmed in horses in 2009, 2010, none for 30 years prior.
- This disease is moving into the West.
- Although previously it was the bat most likely positive for rabies, in 2009 and 2010, it is the skunk, meaning it is much more likely the horse can get the disease.
Colorado Equine Newsletters
Click to read past issues of our newsletter.
December 2008 - Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome, The Nerve Center of the Horse - the Foot, Kid's Corner, Blanket or No Blanket, A Magical Connection with Horses, December Case of the Month: NSAID Toxicity, Seeking to Understand the Mind of the Horse, Parents Looking For a Horse For a Child Make a List and Check it Twice
February 2009 - Special Feature Article:Laminitis, Colorado Equine Clinic Wellness Program 2009, Winter Care for Horses, Winter Care for Horses, February Case Study - Cutaneous Lymphoma (Lymphosarcoma), Understanding The Horse's Mind - The Instinct to Flee, Parasite Control Updated: It's All About the Eggs