The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) reported today that Kentucky’s first case of West Nile virus (WNV) has been identified in the state. A horse was tested positive in Bourbon County, which is in the Bluegrass region of Central Kentucky.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratory earlier today notified Kentucky State Veterinarian Don Notter, DVM, that the disease was verified from samples they received. The horse had been presented to an equine veterinary facility for a neurological problem, Notter said in the press release. The case is not fatal, and the horse is recovering, he said.

“West Nile had been detected as nearby as Ohio and Indiana, so we were not surprised to see a case here in Kentucky,” Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith stated in the release. “State and federal authorities are hard at work to contain the virus and make sure it hasn’t spread any further.”

Harvey Mitchell, chief of staff to Commissioner Smith, said the KDA has notified the Governor’s office, the Department for Public Health, the Division of Emergency Management, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and other agencies. APHIS inspectors and state officials have been sent to the farm to examine other horses at the scene at the time of this writing