Ranch quarantined after horses infected

BOISE – A Montpelier ranch has been quarantined after the discovery of two horses infected with vesicular stomatitis.

It is the first time the contagious virus has been found in Idaho livestock, the Idaho Department of Agriculture said.

All the animals at the southeastern Idaho ranch have been quarantined. Officials did not release the ranch owner’s name, nor did they say how long the quarantine would last.

Vesicular stomatitis is a disease that affects livestock and causes blister-like lesions similar to those associated with the more serious foot-and-mouth disease. Infected animals get blisters on the tongue, lips, teats and sometimes on the feet.

The blisters can cause an animal to avoid food and water, leading to weight loss, though the disease is rarely fatal. Vesicular stomatitis may be spread by flies, contact with infected animals or with animal secretions.

Both the state and officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating.

The nearest place that the disease had been identified is in Wyoming, 75 miles away, said Idaho Department of Agriculture spokesman Wayne Hoffman. The disease has also been found in Montana.

Livestock owners should be careful about moving livestock in or out of states where the virus has been found, Hoffman said in a statement.