{"id":6286,"date":"2021-09-03T09:12:13","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T07:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/?p=6286"},"modified":"2021-09-03T09:12:13","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T07:12:13","slug":"filly-is-5th-victim-of-wnv-disease","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/news\/filly-is-5th-victim-of-wnv-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Filly is 5th victim of WNV disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]California has confirmed that a 2 year old Andalusian mare is in danger, after not being vaccinated against the West Nile Virus. The mosquito-borne neurological disease has already infected 5 other horses in California since the beginning of the year.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]On the 30th of August, officials at the California Department of Agriculture<\/a> confirmed that a 2 year old mare contracted the West Nile Virus<\/strong> at a Kings County training facility. The Andalusian, which was unvaccinated<\/strong> against WNV, started showing signs of an infection on August 19th<\/strong>. The mare had a fever<\/strong>, inappetence<\/strong>, was stumbling<\/strong>, uncoordinated<\/strong> and had increased<\/strong> lung<\/strong> sounds<\/strong>. She has been reported as alive<\/strong>, but no information about her general condition has been released.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to the CDFA, the filly is California’s fifth conformed equine case of WNV in 2021.<\/strong> Previous cases resided in Fresno County, where 2 cases were reported, Merced County (1 case), and Sacramento County (2 cases). Reportedly four of the infected horses in California were unvaccinated.<\/strong>\u00a0Fiveof the six infected horses have survived<\/strong>, one has passed away.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

About West Nile Virus<\/h2>\n

West Nile Virus<\/strong> is the leading cause<\/strong> of arbovirus encephalitis in horses and humans in the United States. Since 2015, more than 25,000 cases<\/strong> of WNV have been reported in U.S. horses. Horses represent 96.9%<\/strong> of all reported non-human cases of WNV disease. West Nile Virus transmission occurs when infected mosquitoes<\/strong> feed on animals, as well as humans, after having fed on infected birds.<\/p>\n

Clinical signs of WNV in horses include:<\/strong><\/p>\n