Effective January 16, 2009, Dr. Stewart Marsh, Chief Veterinarian for the Texas Racing Commission (TxRC), reports that horses from the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana, may again ship in to any Texas horse racetrack or licensed training facility. Texas had banned the movement of horses from the Fair Grounds since December 31, 2008, because of a quarantine in effect there following six horses testing positive for the equine-herpes virus. The Texas ban has been removed since Dr. Tom David with the Louisiana Racing Commission reports that there were no positives in the follow-up testing and the quarantine has now been lifted at the Fair Grounds.

Dr. Marsh is continuing to work closely with both the Louisiana Racing Commission and the Texas Animal Health Commission to monitor the situation and limit the possibility of communicable or contagious diseases to horses on the grounds of Texas horse racetracks and licensed training facilities.

Equine herpes is a viral disease contracted from the air or by direct contact. Symptoms commonly include an upper respiratory infection and a fever. In severe cases, the virus can cause neurological problems. The disease poses no threat to humans.