INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Valacyclovir and Heparin
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May Improve Survival in Horses with EHM
In recent naturally occurring outbreaks in Virginia of equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), all horses that received treatment with valacyclovir and heparin survived, while horses that did not receive this combination were euthanized. Veterinarians from Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, in Leesburg, performed a retrospective review of medical records collected from 3 EHM outbreaks in which this novel treatment combination was used. Megan Marchitello, DVM, a resident at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medicine Center, described the case findings at the B y
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Issue 7/2020 | ModernEquineVet.com
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AAEP 65th Annual Convention in Denver. The first outbreak occurred on a small residential farm that held 4 horses; 2 of the horses had a recent history of travel and 1 had been recently introduced without a quarantine period. The second farm held 41 horses with no history of travel, but the horses had multiple shared water sources. The third facility held 66 horses with a much higher incidence of travel than the other 2 farms, and had recently held a horse show on the premises. “All 3 outbreaks occurred in a 6 month period between 2017 and 2018, and veterinarians from the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, 6 ambulatory
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