A variety of environmental factors might be related to West Nile virus infections in horses, reported a Florida research team lead by Leslie M.V. Rios, PhD, from the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a threat to horses and humans in North America, including the state of Florida where 1,082 equine cases of WNV were reported between 2001 and 2006.

"Florida plays an important role in the equine industry; many breeding horses are located with the state and are at risk of infection even with the availability of three commercially licensed vaccines," wrote the researchers.

To assess risk factors of WNV in Florida horses, Rios and colleagues reviewed data collected from horses tested for the disease in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Their hypothesis was that "increased risk factors for WNV transmission to horses are related to the availability of mosquito larval habitat, animal housing conditions, and animal management practices

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