Animal health officials in Oregon have confirmed the state’s third equine case of West Nile virus (WNV) for 2013, while officials say a fifth Kentucky horse has tested positive for the virus.

Officials reported Oct. 2 that a horse located north of Hermiston in Umatilla County, Ore., had tested positive for the virus on Sept. 27. Testing was carried out at the Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Corvallis. This is the first confirmed equine case in Umatilla County since 2009, a press release said, and the horse tested positive five weeks after officials first detected the virus in mosquitoes in Umatilla County.

According to an Oregon Health Authority Public Health Department surveillance map, one horse in Malheur County and another in Union County have already tested positive for WNV this year. In 2012, Oregon reported two equine WNV cases.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky State Veterinarian’s office announced Oct. 2 that a Calloway County horse has tested positive for WNV

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