The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced July 30 that West Nile virus (WNV) has been confirmed in four Minnesota horses through testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.

Minnesota’s first confirmed WNV cases in horses involve single horses in Hennepin, Clay, Roseau, and Beltrami counties. The Board

According to Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, as of July 30, 2002, West Nile virus (WNV) has been confirmed in 38 birds, and another five birds are presumably positive in Ontario.

The confirmed and presumed positive birds have been found in the following regions:

Chatham-Kent (8 confirmed),
Haldimand-Norfolk (1 presumed),
Haliburton-Kawartha-Pine Ridge (

The Kentucky State Veterinarian’s office reported this evening that a 5-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding in Nelson County has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). The gelding began showing clinical signs on July 9, and his ataxia (incoordination) was so severe that he was euthanized on July 10. Diagnostic tests done at the University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic

Four interesting facts were brought to light because of the late-term abortion and Eastern tent caterpillar (ETC) study that was recently completed at the University of Kentucky (UK), according to Dr. Thomas Tobin of the Gluck Equine Research Center:

1. Since live Eastern tent caterpillars were shipped in from Michigan for the study, it was proven that this isn’t a Kentucky