Bartlett horse farm rebounds after herpes virus claims 5 animals
Devastated.
That's how horse lovers associated with Sunset Hill Farm described their emotions as five of their beloved animals succumbed to the Equine Herpes Virus since late January.
State officials issued a quarantine then, which they lifted about two weeks ago. The Bartlett farm, which subsequently imposed its own voluntary quarantine as a precaution, is now virus-free. Three of the horses that tested positive for the virus survived and no horse has tested positive for the virus for at least 28 days.
The quarantine all but shut down Sunset Hill operations, said Georgette Litchfield, whose family has owned the farm for more than 60 years. The deaths affected them far more profoundly than the loss of income.
To watch a horse suffer and succumb to the disease is a nightmare Litchfield and her husband Russ'l Gach never want to experience again.
Of the eight horses that tested positive for the virus, five died, including the couple's beloved Woodrow. The 10-year-old was the last EHV fatality at Sunset Hill.
Devastating to horses and owners, Equine Herpes Virus is a disease veterinarians hope to never see, said Dr. Kati Lukas, an equine veterinarian from Barrington.
“When you come into a barn that has tested positive for infectious disease you plan for the worst and hope for the best,” said Lukas, who calls EHV one of the worst equine illnesses. “It can spread like wildfire.”
Outbreaks of the virus, which strikes randomly and claims horses of all types and ages, have increased, surfacing at farms and racetrack around the country, including Hawthorne Racetrack in Cicero, where an outbreak occurred in 2012.
Still, Litchfield can't imagine ever leaving the profession.
“This is a labor of love,” she said. “A boarding stable is not a profitable business.”
“But I can't imagine living any other way,” Gach adds.
Sunset Hill has 29 stalls and a total of 34 horses, four of which belong to the couple and live outside, but have access to shelter.
Gach praised the patience and commitment of their boarders, none of whom has left Sunset Hill for another farm since the quarantine,
“Everyone stuck together. I was pleasantly surprised at that,” he said, adding “the experience brought a lot of people closer together.”
Several owners who board their horses at Sunset Hill praised the couple and their employees for the extraordinary biosecurity they implemented under the direction of Lukas, who devised protocols that included daily cleaning and disinfecting of the stalls and equipment. Lukas' measures also included wrapping the stalls in plastic sheeting and supplying protective clothing for staff members and owners.
Litchfield says the horses' temperatures were taken twice daily during the quarantine, and the farm had a separate dumpster for manure. Owners of the horses boarded at the farm were allowed on the premises only to take care of their animals, Litchfield said. Everybody worked together to contain the outbreak, said Gach.
“Everyone did a great job,” Litchfield said. “We were wearing booties in stalls and spraying things down with bleach and Lysol.”
Sunset Hill clients who spoke with the Daily Herald declined to give their names, citing the stigma attached to a barn that suffers an outbreak.
Lukas calls that stigma unfair. She says Litchfield and Gach went “above and beyond” the required response, extending the voluntary quarantine to ensure the horses were disease free. All have since tested negative and their owners have documentation to prove it, Lukas said.
“This could have spread throughout the state, but because of everyone's due diligence we kept it in one barn,” she said, adding that vaccinations also helped check the outbreak.
Litchfield, Gach and the owners praised Lukas, calling her their hero.
“Thank God for Dr. Lukas,” Litchfield said.
Equine Herpes Virus spreads mainly through direct horse-to-horse contact, typically at equestrian events, according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners. However, contaminated human hands and equipment - including feed and grooming items, tack and trailers- can transmit the disease indirectly, says the AAEP.
Signs of the virus include nasal discharge, lethargy, incoordination and inability to rise. Unfortunately, those symptoms can also suggest other, less serious diseases, Litchfield said.
Veterinarians typically prescribe Valacyclovir, the same drug that treats herpes in humans. According to the AAEP, treatments can run up to $300 per day.
All that's left now, Litchfield said, is for legislation that will make it mandatory for veterinarians to report EHV cases, something which 39 states require. Illinois is not among them. Lukas wants that to change.
“It's the stigma. Everyone is afraid to be the sick barn,” she said. “But it's what's safe for every horse. We can't just think about our horse. Horses are herd animals. We have to think about the herd in Illinois and the herd in the country.”
Daily Herald staff writer Erin Hegarty contributed to this report.