California Officials Confirm Sixth WNV Case of 2020
The case marks Riverside County’s second confirmed equine with West Nile virus. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
On Aug. 27, officials at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) confirmed a 5-year-old Paint mare in Riverside County with West Nile virus (WNV). She began experiencing clinical signs of ataxia (loss of control of limb and bodily movements), facial twitching, and muscle fasciculations (twitching) on Aug. 17. The mare, who was unvaccinated, is reported as recovering.

This is California’s sixth confirmed case of WNV in 2020. Confirmed positive horses have been located in the following counties:

  • Amador (1)
  • Merced (1)
  • Riverside (2)
  • San Joaquin (1)
  • Stanislaus (1)

Four of the horses were unvaccinated, and two had unknown vaccination histories. Four horses have survived, one died, and one was euthanized.

About West Nile Virus

WNV Longform feature image
RELATED CONTENT | West Nile Virus in U.S. Horses (Special Feature)

WNV transmission occurs when infected mosquitoes feed on animals, as well as humans, after having fed on infected birds

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.