Viral outbreak strikes Bastrop County livestock

Bastrop County has become a breeding ground for a non-lethal virus that has broken out among livestock, according to a recently released report by the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Bastrop County has recorded more cases of the vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, than any other Texas county this year, the commission said. The state agency has confirmed nine cases of VSV in Bastrop County with the first one confirmed July 17.

Once a positive case is recorded in a county, other animals exhibiting clinical signs of VSV are not required by state law to be tested and instead are quarantined and classified as “suspect.” Bastrop County currently has 50 properties with suspect cases, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Travis County has the second highest number in the state with 16 suspect cases. In all, 37 Texas counties have reported a total of 76 positive cases of VSV and 96 suspect cases.

The virus affects a wide variety of mammals, including cattle, horses, pigs and deer. The visible symptoms of the virus are blisters, sores, and sloughing of skin in the mouth, tongue, muzzle, ears and above the hooves, according to Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. While not life-threatening, state officials track the virus because its visible symptoms are indistinguishable from those of foot and mouth disease, a highly contagious disease that can cause anorexia, lameness or lethargy in animals and was eradicated in the U.S. in 1929.

VSV is commonly spread by biting flies, like horse flies and deer flies, which often breed along waterways.

“The trend we’ve seen this year and in years past is a lot of the VSV cases have been on premises along the Colorado River,” said Callie Ward, a spokesperson for the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Scientists have not been able to determine what causes an outbreak of the virus or where the virus resides during the years when it is not present, according to the state animal health commission. The last outbreak was recorded in 2014, when Texas had 66 confirmed cases across 13 counties — 60% of which were reported in Bastrop County.

Ward said that cases are usually discovered in the warm months and stop spreading when temperatures drop.

“Now that it’s cold weather, we’re probably not going to see any more VSV cases,” she said.

The commission does not make publicly available the identities or locations of livestock owners whose animals have tested positive for VSV.

Texas is one of eight states currently battling a VSV outbreak, according to the USDA. This year’s outbreak began in June when the first VSV-positive case was discovered in Kinney County in South Texas. New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Utah and Kansas subsequently reported cases throughout the summer and fall months.

Bastrop County has the fourth highest number of suspected cases of VSV of all counties currently experiencing an outbreak nationwide.

The outbreak has hit Colorado the worst, with 418 suspected cases and 274 confirmed cases, according to the USDA report.