Ohio Confirms First Equine WNV Cases of 2017

Ohio also confirmed a case of EEE in an Ashtabula County horse on Aug. 24.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

On Sept. 13 the Ohio Department of Agriculture confirmed the first positive cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in Ohio horses for 2017. Multiple cases in different parts of the state have been reported. None of the horses confirmed to have contracted WNV had been vaccinated.

The spread of WNV in horses is preventable with proper vaccination and horse owners are urged to ensure their animal’s vaccinations and boosters are up-to-date.

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%.

The WNV cases follow the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s report of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in an Ashtabula County horse on Aug. 24. That horse was unvaccinated against EEE

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
336 votes · 336 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!