More than 70 Texas horses have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV) in 2012, according to statistics from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

On Oct. 15 the department reported through its website that 72 horses residing in 49 Texas counties had been confirmed positive since the beginning of the year. The majority of those counties are located in the eastern half of the state, with just a handful being confirmed in West Texas.

According to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Animal Health Monitoring and Surveillance, Texas first reported equine WNV in 2002, when 1,699 horses contracted the disease. Case counts dropped drastically in 2003 and 2004, with 717 and 122 cases reported, respectively.

In 2005 just 27 Texas horses tested positive for the disease; however, the total rose to 111 in 2006 before dropping to 94 in 2007. From 2008 to 2010, less than 30 cases of WNV were confirmed annually, and the total plummeted to six in 2011