05.19.04 : Vesicular Stomatitis
Outbreak
Officials in Texas reported an outbreak
of Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) in May, 2004. Although there
had not been a previous outbreak of VS in the United States
since November 1998, there are two strains ( New Jersey and
Indiana-1) that are considered endemic to the U.S. This recent
outbreak has affected cattle and horses and has occurred
in Texas, New Mexico and most recently, Colorado.
VS has similar clinical manifestations
to other vesicular diseases such as foot and mouth, swine
vesicular disease, and vesicular exanthema. Because these
other diseases are not present in the United States, it is
extremely important to differentiate them from VS. The VS
virus is primarily transmitted by vector and contact, has
a wide host range (horses are the most severely affected),
and can produce high morbidity but mortality is rare. The
virus is a zoonotic agent, producing flu-like symptoms in
infected humans.
Increased surveillance, reporting
and communication can all aid in early detection of VS. The
CFSPH has developed a fact sheet on Vesicular Stomatitis,
which is intended for use by veterinarians as an aid in informing
their clients and the general public about VS. This file
may be downloaded from this site by right clicking on the
link below and selecting "Save Target As..."
 (PDF
356KB)  (PPT
418KB)
Please contact us at cfsph@iastate.edu if
you have any comments and questions.
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