All stallions and mares should be routinely and carefully inspected for signs of papules, vesicles, pustules or ‘pox-like’ craterous lesions on the skin of their penis/ prepuce and vulva/perineum before mating proceeds. If there is any suspicion of infection, veterinary advice should be sought before mating is allowed to proceed.
Veterinary surgeons or assistants who are handling the genitalia of infected horses should wear disposable gloves that are changed between horses and veterinary surgeons should use disposable vaginascopes. Utensils such as jugs/buckets and saline solution should not be shared between horses, and disposable paper towels should be used rather than shared sponges.
There is no commercially available vaccine for EHV-3 infection. Although it is unusual for stallions or mares to show signs of infection again after natural infection, it is probable that natural immunity is short-lived as individuals have shown recurrent ECE in sequential breeding seasons.
