BHA warns trainers after reported outbreak of equine herpes

An outbreak of the contagious equine herpes virus (EHV) has been reported at the yard of Grand National-winning trainer Dr Richard Newland.

Movement restrictions have been placed on the yard to prevent any spread after the BHA was informed by Newland that the illness was present, with the authority outlining that it was "not aware of any confirmed cases in other yards".

However, the BHA has requested trainers with runners at Uttoxeter on June 2, Worcester on June 4 and at Southwell on Monday to be particularly vigilant for signs of EHV – such as a high temperature, nasal discharge, a dry cough and loss of appetite – as those runners may have come into contact with infected horses at those meetings.

In a statement, the BHA said on Thursday: "The BHA has issued a notice regarding an outbreak of EHV in the licensed training yard of Dr Richard Newland in Elmbridge, Worcestershire. EHV is a common virus that occurs in horse populations worldwide, and is endemic in the UK.

"We're grateful to Dr Newland and his veterinary team for their prompt diagnosis and for notifying the BHA, as required under the rules of racing.

“Movement restrictions have been placed on the affected yard to limit any future spread beyond the premises, with further diagnostic sampling under way to establish the precise strain, which is yet to be confirmed, but is presumed to be EHV-1.

“We are not aware of any confirmed cases in other yards, but we ask that trainers and veterinary surgeons remain vigilant to the clinical signs of EHV, and advise twice daily temperature checks for all horses. We would also remind trainers that any horse with a fever/pyrexia should not travel to a racecourse at any point."

EHV-1 can cause respiratory disease in horses, abortion in pregnant mares and neurological disease, while EHV-4 causes low-grade respiratory illness and occasionally causes mares to abort.

While contagious, EHV is not as easily spread as equine flu, which caused the sport in Britain to be stopped for six days in February 2019.

Read this next:

BHA defends position after being accused of torpedoing 300-race reduction plan

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.