Animal health officials with the Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food & Markets have confirmed that a horse in Franklin County has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV), ending three years of speculation as to when and where the first case would occur. The horse is said to be stable and is recovering. Since the virus is not contagious, agricultural officials say the infected horse doesn’t pose a risk to humans or other animals.

The discovery of the WNV-positive horse follows an announcement by the Vermont Department of Health on Aug. 8 of the first case in 2002 of a bird with West Nile virus. The dead blue jay was also found in Franklin County, in Highgate, on the Canadian border.

According to State Veterinarian Todd Johnson, DVM, the finding of a WNV-positive horse is not unexpected. Since the first identification of West Nile virus infection in horses in New York State three years ago, positive horses have been identified in each of the states that border Vermont. Johnson says that this is also the time of year that equine cases have typically started occurring in the northeast region since 1999.

Johnson said that West Nile virus in horses is not contagious and does not present a threat of spreading to people or other animals. Furthermore, the risk of exposure for individual horses is considered to be low. An outbreak affecting a large number of horses is not considered likely since cases tend to occur sporadically within a region