State’s vesicular stomatitis outbreak the focus of CSU online presentation and Q&A on Thursday

Colorado State University on Thursday evening will host an interactive online discussion about the infectious disease known as vesicular stomatitis virus, which has triggered the quarantine of dozens of horse and livestock properties in Colorado with more lockdowns expected.

The presentation is set 6-7 p.m. Thursday and will help all interested horse and livestock owners understand the disease, its transmission, reasons for quarantine, economic concerns during the current outbreak, the fate of horse shows and events, disease treatment and preventative measures.

Providing information will be Dr. Paul Morley, a CSU veterinarian and director of infection control for the university’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and Dr. Angela Pelzel-McCluskey, a veterinarian and national epidemiologist for equine diseases with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On Monday, the Colorado State Veterinarian’s Office reported that 104 properties, primarily in northern Colorado, had been quarantined with animals displaying symptoms of vesicular stomatitis virus. That number is rising sharply by the day, prompting many questions among horse and livestock owners.

The online discussion will be provided through the social networking platform Google+ Hangout, which functions much like a webinar, allowing participants to view and hear presentations from personal computers and other devices – and to ask questions of the experts. Participation is free. Internet service is needed.

To view the presentation and to join the discussion, visit http://col.st/1kzKBDT.

Submit questions early by e-mailing cvmbs-socialmedia@colostate.edu. Questions also may be submitted through Twitter, Facebook or Google+ using the hashtag #PagingDrRam.

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