Kentucky has its first confirmed case of West Nile virus (WNV) in an equine for 2003, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Division of Animal Health reported on Thursday. The 20-year-old pleasure horse is located in Madison County, said Rusty Ford, the Department's equine programs manager. The horse is recovering and the prognosis is good. "West Nile is here to stay, so we are not surprised that it has returned with the warmer weather," Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith said. "With the unusually wet spring we've had, property owners need to be even more diligent about removing standing water, which creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry the virus. We also continue to urge equine owners to consult with their veterinarians about vaccinating their animals for the virus." The attending veterinarian reported to the KDA that the horse began showing clinical signs of the virus about May 20 and also became nervous and excitable. The veterinarian reported that the horse had been vaccinated once, a week before the onset of the virus. In 2002, 513 equine in Kentucky were confirmed to have suffered from WNV. Of those, 131 either died or were euthanized. The first equine case of 2002 was confirmed on June 27. No human cases of WNV have been reported in the state so far this year, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Last year, 75 Kentuckians were confirmed with WNV, and five of those people died. West Nile virus (WNV) causes encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, in horses, humans and birds and other warm-blooded animals. It is transmitted by mosquitoes that acquire it from infected birds. Humans and equine cannot transmit the disease. It was first discovered in the United States in 1999 in New York and reached Kentucky in 2001, when eight equine cases were confirmed in the state. For more information on WNV, visit www.kyagr.com/state_vet/ah/westnile.htm. |