The Tennessee state veterinarian has announced that two horses in that state have tested positive West Nile virus (WNV) and one has been confirmed positive for equine infectious anemia (EIA).

The WNV-positive horses are located in Davidson County and Knox County, and the EIA-positive horse was identified in Bedford County.

“We think about the summer as being bad for biting insects, but the risk carries well into the fall,” State Veterinarian Charles Hatcher, DVM, said in an Oct. 6 statement. “Horse owners need to be vigilant, take preventive measures, and practice good animal husbandry to protect their livestock year-round.”

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. There are no specific treatments for WNV, however supportive care can help horses recover in some cases. Equine mortality rate can be as high as 30-40%