Livestock virus outbreak prompts rules

SANTA FE (AP) - A debilitating virus infecting livestock in New Mexico prompted regulators on Friday to issue stringent new rules requiring health certificates for animals brought to public events like fairs and rodeos.

Health officials are also warning people who attend fairs to avoid pigs because of a new swine flu strain. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 276 cases have been documented in 10 mostly Midwestern states as of Friday. The new strain is mild, but nearly all human infections have been confirmed to have been contracted from pigs and hasn't been seen yet in New Mexico.

The CDC said Friday that nearly all people with the new flu strain were exposed to pigs, mostly at fairs. A handful of person-to-person infections are suspected, but the virus appears not to spread easily that way.

Most cases have occurred in children exhibiting their swine or helping out at fairs who have had a lot of contact with the animals.

The rules announced by the New Mexico Livestock Board to control the livestock virus require organizers of any livestock event to bar animals without a health certificate issued by a veterinarian within the past five days.

The directive aims to slow the spread of a virus called vesicular stomatitis, commonly called VS. The disease is spread by insects and animal-to-animal through open sores and saliva.

It causes painful, blister-like lesions on horses, cattle and pigs and can affect sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas. It is rarely fatal but can become so painful that an animal's ability to eat and move can be limited.

Human infections with the VS virus are extremely rare, state veterinarian Dr. Dave Fly said, and then it only causes mild symptoms.

The health certificate order applies to all public livestock events, including ropings, horse shows, fairs, jackpots, trail rides and gymkhanas and others.

The Livestock Board also is increasing road stops, paperwork checks and patrols to look for looking for infected animals and adding checkpoints at livestock events. A number of animals have been quarantined as a result. Livestock owners can help by isolating their animals from others using insect repellants and watching for symptoms.