The British Horseracing Authority & National Trainers Federation issued a notice to licensed trainers that a case of Equine Herpes has been confirmed by Rossdale's Laboratories.
Kevin Ryan's yard is affected. Details indicate that one horse is currently known to have been affected.
The BHA said: ''We are working with Mr Ryan, his staff and veterinary surgeon to ensure that the correct disease control measures are in place. These measures include increased biosecurity, further testing and a quarantine stop on the premises. As a result, the BHA has placed a temporary stop on Mr Ryan’s yard which prevents him from making declarations for races in Britain until further notice.''
In addition, Bryan Smart and Michael Herrington stables have been quarantined as a precaution due to the close proximity of the yards and the sharing of horseboxes. However, no diagnosed cases have been identified at either yard.
David Sykes, Director of Equine Health and Welfare for the BHA, said:
“Cases of the neurological form of EHV-1 are occasional and, while the disease can be extremely serious for the affected horses, with proper surveillance and disease control the virus can usually be effectively contained.
“While the risk of the virus being transmitted in a controlled race day environment is relatively small, it is, in theory, possible that horses from the yard in question may have been infectious sometime before the disease was diagnosed. For this reason, we have taken measures to alert trainers, as well as racecourses and veterinary surgeons, to be vigilant to the clinical signs.
“The decision to close the further yards is based on the identification of risk factors, namely the proximity of yards and the sharing of horse boxes. These measures have been taken as a precaution, with the safety of the horse population very much in mind.”