Management factors affecting the risk for vesicular stomatitis in livestock operations in the western United States.
OBJECTIVE
To identify management factors affecting the risk of animals developing vesicular stomatitis (VS).


METHODS
Case-control study.


METHODS
Horses, cattle, and sheep with suspected vesicular stomatitis on 395 premises in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona.


METHODS
Data were collected during the VS outbreak of 1997. Diagnosticians interviewed livestock owners and completed a supplemental questionnaire. Cases were defined as those premises that had a completed questionnaire and had > or = 1 animal positive for VS. Control premises were all premises investigated that had a completed questionnaire and on which the animals had been tested but VS was not detected.


RESULTS
Animals that had access to a shelter or barn had a reduced risk of developing VS (OR, 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.99). This effect was more pronounced for equine premises (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.9). Conversely, during an adjusted analysis on equine premises, risk of developing disease was increased slightly where animals had access to pasture (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.7). On all premises where owners reported insect populations were greater than normal, odds of developing disease were significantly increased (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.47 to 4.47). Premises with animals housed < 0.25 miles from running water were more than twice as likely to have clinical signs of VS (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.32 to 5.0).


CONCLUSIONS
These results support reports of others that suggest biting insects are a vector in VS virus transmission. Management practices to reduce exposure to biting insects might reduce the risk of VS.
Hurd
H S
HS
Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, USDA, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
McCluskey
B J
BJ
Mumford
E L
EL
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006736:Horses; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007313:Insecta / Q000254:growth & development; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018353:Rhabdoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015206:Southwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus