Agriculture Secretary Art Brown Jr. said Tuesday (Sept. 5) that the death last week of a six-year-old Thoroughbred gelding in Tuckahoe, Cape May County, has been attributed to infection with the West Nile virus (WNV), in conjunction with other medical complications.

According to State Veterinarian Ernest Zirkle, DVM, the horse became ill on August 27, showing signs of neurological deficits, weakness, an elevated temperature of 104 and difficulty rising, all possible signs of equine encephalitis. The horse had not left the farm for the past three months. The horse was euthanized on August 30.

Samples from the horse were tested at New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s (NJDA) animal health laboratory for both Eastern and Western equine encephalitis as well as equine infectious anemia and WNV. Because the animal had demonstrated some uncharacteristically aggressive behavior, the laboratory at the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) also tested samples for rabies. Preliminary results from this group of tests revealed an elevated titer that was later confirmed as WNV by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.* Of the diseases tested for, the results confirmed the presence of WNV only.

Horses become infected with the WNV through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The disease cannot be spread from horse to horse or from an infected horse to humans or domestic pets. Not all horses that contract WNV become ill