No Herpes at Bowie
by Nanci T. Steveson

On January 21, Dr. Carol Swanby, a private veterinarian for trainer Rob Bailes who stables 19 horses at the Bowie Training Center, noticed something suspicious in one of his horses.  As of press time it is unclear exactly what the initial symptoms were that alerted Dr. Swanby to a possible herpes infection, but she was not going to take any chances.  The horse was immediately moved to an isolated barn and all the horses in Barn #7 at the training center were confined to their shed row. 

On January 22 the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) imposed an “Investigational Animal Hold Order” on Barn #7, which officially restricted the movement of the horses housed there in or out of the barn until the results of blood tests and nasal swabs from the symptomatic horse came back. 

Vice President of Communications for the MD Jockey Club, Mike Gathagan, said they wanted to take a proactive approach to the possibility of an infection.  “Some other race tracks have tried to hide the virus, but that isn’t how we want it done.”  The horse in question has shown no further neurologic symptoms. Test results on blood samples came back negative on January 24 and nasal swab results were also negative as of January 25.

The MDA field veterinarian handling the case inspected the barn that morning and reported no signs of the virus in any of the horses housed there. At that time, the hold order on Barn #7 was lifted by the MDA. Maryland Jockey Club president and general manager Chris Dragone was very “pleased that the system worked and that everybody worked together so well.”

Is this close call a sign that herpes has moved back into MD? More importantly, if so, what does that mean to us as a community?
Dr. Mike Erskine of Damascus Equine Associates and President of the Maryland Horse Council said his overall sense is that “infectious and contagious diseases in horses are going to be an issue that horse people will have to deal with,” but for each incident that occurs there is a definite improvement in the response by the officials and the community at large. 

“The more information that gets out,” Dr. Erskine continued, “and the more people are educated in how to respond to these situations, the more they trust the process and have confidence in how to handle it. With each occurrence, the procedures used to protect the rest of the community are improved and become more effective. The sharing of information between stables, and between officials, is very important and beneficial to our understanding of how to combat this disease.”

EHV-1 is an airborne virus that is contagious up to 35 feet. However, not all horses actively shedding the virus will show symptoms. Although there is no vaccine that is effective against the neurological form of EHV-1, a good vaccination program may lessen the severity of an outbreak.

More information about EHV-1 and recommended bio-security measures can be found at www.mda.state.md.us and click on "Equine Herpesvirus Status and Prevention Measures under Hot Topics

The Annapolis File
by Nancy Hill

The 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly began on January 9. Seventy-eight House bills and 38 Senate bills were prefiled. Because none seem to impact the horse industry as of press time, I thought Equiery readers might be interested in learning about the Maryland General Assembly – its history, who represents us, and how bills are passed.

To go back to the beginning, Maryland state government started when the first constitution of Maryland was adopted on November 8, 1776. The Maryland State House in Annapolis is the oldest state house in the country still in constant legislative use. From November 26, 1783 to June 3, 1784, when Annapolis served as capital to the newly forming American nation, the Continental Congress met in Annapolis, and important events took place at the State House such as, George Washington resigning his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783 and the signing of the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War on January 14, 1784.

The General Assembly convenes annually on the second Wednesday in January for a 90-day session. Maryland has a bicameral (two-house) legislature which consists of the Senate, led by the Senate President (currently Thomas V. “Mike” Miller) and the House of Delegates, led by the House Speaker (currently Michael Busch). The Senate is made up of 33 Democrats (70%) and 14 Republicans (30%). The House is made up of 104 Democrats (74%) and 37 Republicans (26%). At the beginning of every session, the Senate President and the House Speaker name their committee chairs, vice chairs, members of each committee, and other leadership positions.

The ideas for bills come from a legislator’s constituents, the legislator, the Governor, government agencies, study commissions, special interest groups, lobbyists, and professional associations. The ideas cover almost every conceivable situation or subject, all of which affect Marylanders either directly or indirectly.

A bill must first be drafted to conform to constitutional standards by the Department of Legislative Services. Every session, approximately 2,400 bills are introduced; typically one-third will pass and become law. Each bill must have a first reading in its chamber of origin and then be assigned to a specific standing committee.

The next step is committee consideration and public hearings. For every bill, the Department of Legislative Services also develops a fiscal note that gauges a bill’s economic impact on businesses and on different levels of government. The bill’s sponsor as well as proponents and opponents testify before the committees.

The committee then votes either favorably (with or without amendments) or unfavorably. If the bill receives an unfavorable report, it dies then and there. If it receives a favorable report, it moves on to the floor of its chamber of origin for its second reading where it is then open to amendments from the floor. At that point, the bill is ordered printed for “third reader,” i.e. it is read for the third time on the floor, where it must receive a majority vote of the membership.

After passing one house, it is sent to the opposite chamber for its first reading and assignment to a standing committee.

The bill follows the same procedure except that it may be amended during its second and third readings.

If the bill is amended in the second chamber, it must be returned to the chamber of origin so its members can consider the amendments. If they agree to the amendments, the bill is again voted upon as amended and action is complete. The bill is reprinted, or “enrolled,” to include the added amendments and is then submitted to the Governor to be signed or vetoed. If the amendments are not agreed to, the amending chamber may be asked to withdraw its amendments. If it refuses, a conference committee may be appointed to resolve the differences.

Conference committees are appointed by the Senate President and the House Speaker and consist of three members from each house. If an agreement cannot be reached, the bill dies.

During the legislative process there are plenty of opportunities for citizens to get involved. For a link to the Maryland General Assembly website, visit www.equiery.com and click on resources.

I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of citizen participation. I understand that we all have many commitments and demands on our time, but we also have an obligation to let our voices be heard. Remember, when you contact a legislator, be direct, succinct, and polite!

©2008 The Equiery