The Delaware Department of Agriculture has confirmed that a horse from a farm on the northwest side of Clayton has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). This is the first appearance of the virus in Delaware.

The horse was first identified as a possible WNV case on October 10; however, state officials could not make a positive diagnosis without the results of extensive lab tests performed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The horse is currently being treated with antibiotics and is expected to make a full recovery.

Dr. Wesley Towers, state veterinarian, urges Delaware horse owners to contact their veterinarian if they suspect a horse has been infected with WNV. Symptoms in horses include listlessness, muscle spasms in the head and neck area, and weakness in the hind limbs. At this time, a vaccine against WNV does not exist. Early detection is the only way to help prevent a serious and possibly fatal infection. An infected horse poses no danger to humans. WNV is carried by wild birds and can only be transmitted to humans and other mammals through mosquito bites.

“It is not surprising that the West Nile Virus has surfaced in Delaware considering that the virus had expanded to other states located to the immediate north, east and west of Delaware,” said David E. Saveikis, program manager for the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Mosquito Control in Kent and Sussex County