COVENTRY – The Chenango County Farm Bureau is concerned about the lack of public awareness regarding a highly contagious viral infection that affects horses.

“There’s not enough information available on Equine Herpesvirus 1,” said Jan Hinman, a Coventry horse farm owner who sits on the CCFB board of directors.

Two cases of the virus, referred to as EHV-1, were confirmed in late March. Some 69 horses that may have been exposed to the infected animals while they were being treated at Cornell University’s Equine Hospital were quarantined as a result, according to a press statement issued by the New York State Department of Ag and Markets on April 5. The Equine Hospital itself was also quarantined, from March 29 through April 11.

But Hinman fears there are many horse owners who are unaware of the dangers of the virus.