The Washington State Department of Agriculture has reported seven recent confirmed cases of West Nile virus (WNV). The cases were recorded from August 8 to August 30. The cases and histories/status are as follows:
- a 10-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse gelding from Spokane County is recovering
- an 8-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse mare from Spokane County is recovering
- a 10-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse gelding from Lincoln County has an unknown health status
- a 26-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse gelding from Spokane County is recovering
- a 7-year-old unvaccinated draft horse mare from Spokane County was euthanized
- a 28-year-old recently vaccinated Arabian mare from Spokane County is recovering
- a 4-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse cross gelding from Benton County was euthanized.
For more information visit the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Kentucky WNV
The Kentucky State Veterinarian’s office confirmed a case of WNV on Sept. 8 in a 13-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding in Metcalfe County. On September 2 the horse presented with a head tilt, loss of front limb proprioception and some ataxia. The horse was subsequently reported by its attending veterinarian to be in stable condition with some improvement. There was no history of WNV vaccination. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s EQ West Nile summary Web Page has been updated to include this sixth equine WNV case of 2017 in the state.
This article was created with information from the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC). The EDCC works to protect horses and the horse industry from the threat of infectious diseases in North America. The communication system is designed to seek and report real time information about disease outbreaks similar to how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerts the human population about diseases in people.
