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State- Horse respiratory disease appears containedALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)--An outbreak of respiratory disease in horses appears to be contained to about 10 percent of New Mexico's 265 horse breeding farms, according to state officials. Equine viral arteritis, or EVA, causes pregnant mares to abort their foals. The disease rarely kills adult horses. The disease was confirmed on a horse farm south of Albuquerque in late June and had spread to about 20 farms by early this month, said deputy state veterinarian Dave Fly. As of mid-August, the disease appears to be only on those farms, he said. "Probably the most important thing is, we ducked any embargoes on horses leaving the state and going elsewhere," Fly said. "A lot of people don't understand the significance of that. Had we not shown that we can handle this, other states would have just said, 'No, we're not going to take your horses.'" Such an embargo could have been devastating to breeders and racehorse owners. Five other states--Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah--reported EVA outbreaks this summer and it appears those outbreaks also are contained, Fly said. New Mexico's outbreak was the first to hit quarter horses, and a shortage of vaccine is likely to persist until October, Fly said. Fly said the state is investigating an occurrence of EVA in a Valencia County mare bred to an imported stallion. Infected stallions, which might have no symptoms, often become lifelong carriers of EVA. Date: 8/22/06
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