Horse first case of West Nile virus
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Recommend ThisBERRYVILLE -- A horse from Clarke County offered the state's first positive test for the West Nile virus such an animal this year, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The horse had received a vaccine for the virus but required a booster injection this month, a news release issued Tuesday states. The agency's Regional Animal Health Laboratory in Warrenton received a nasal swab and serum sample from the horse suspected initially to have contracted the equine herpes virus infection. The animal subsequently tested positive for West Nile virus, the agency announced.
Veterinarians began treating the horse's symptoms -- low-grade fever; ataxia; hypertermia, which is a lifting of its feet excessively high; and intermittent central nervous system depression -- for 24 hours starting at onset Aug. 30. They euthanized the horse Aug. 31, according to the release.
The state has not yet reported any cases of another mosquito-borne illness, eastern equine encephalitis. The agency warns owners to vaccinate their animals because mosquito season lasts through November. People also can help prevent the spread of the disease by destroying standing water breeding sites, using insect repellents, or taking animals from mosquito-infested areas during peak bite times, usually dusk to dawn.
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