The Kentucky State Veterinarian’s office has announced that a horse from Menifee County has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). This is the third equine WNV case confirmed in the commonwealth this year.

In a statement Kentucky Equine Programs manager E.S. "Rusty" Ford said the case was confirmed Aug. 1.

The 18-year-old pleasure saddle horse mare presented on July 26 with severe hind-limb ataxia, lethargy, and front-leg crossing. Her condition continued to deteriorate and she was euthanized on July 28. She had no WNV vaccination history.

West Nile is transmitted to horses via bites from infected mosquitoes. Clinical signs for WNV include flulike signs, where the horse seems mildly anorexic and depressed; fine and coarse muscle and skin fasciculation; hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to touch and sound); changes in mentation (mentality), when horses look like they are daydreaming or "just not with it"; occasional somnolence (drowsiness); propulsive walking (driving or pushing forward, often without control); and "spinal" signs, including asymmetrical weakness. Some horses show asymmetrical or symmetrical ataxia. Equine mortality rate can be as high as 30-40%