sale barns, competitions, geological and management practices. Current studies that have been done are showing that a majority of horses are actually latently infected with EHV-1. The consequence of latency is that in fact, it can cause an outbreak of EHV-1 in a closed group of horses, without any external source. Latent infected horses do not shed EHV-1 through nasal secretions and therefore are not infectious and are called clinically normal. Signs, symptoms and transmission The signs that occur with EHV-1 and the EHM strain may include the following: decreased coordination, urine dribbling, fever, hind limb weakness, leaning against things to maintain balance, and lethargy..Some horses may be asymptomatic upon infection increasing the difficulty in controlling the spread of the virus. Due to the nature of the virus being highly contagious, a common reservoir of the virus can include contaminated bedding. Fetuses that may have been aborted and their excrements are the major reservoir for EHV-1 and should be immediately disposed of upon abortion. Although infected horses build some type of immunity through repeated exposure of the virus, there has been no evidence of adaptive immunity to provide protection against the most severe symptoms of EHV-1 including EHM. p. Risk factors Scientists have identified multiple risk factors that increase a horse's susceptibility to EHV-1. The variation in risk factors is due to the numerous EHV-1 strains that may cause infection. Common risk factors seen in all EHV-1 infections include the age, sex, and gender of the horse. Additional risk factors that vary depending on the type of EHV-1 strain present include the following: living quarters (confined or pastured), prevalence of other horses, unsterilized equipment shared between horses, transportation (hauling) and what time of year infection is present (winter or summer). Stabled horses are prone to EHV-1 due to the high stress environments seen in confined living quarters. As seen in other viral infections, older horses are more susceptible to the disease therefore treatment is advised for those that fit this category to prevent EHV-1 infection. Diagnosis, treatment and prevention Treatment The current diagnosis used for detecting EHV-1 involves PCR which amplifies a segment of DNA from the horse using specific primers that target EHV-1's genetic makeup. To determine whether the reaction amplified a genetic region of interest (ie. primers specific to EHV-1) the PCR result is viewed using UV fluorescence where a determination can be made based on the size