04/06/06 West Nile virus

West Nile Virus I just learned a little more about West Nile virus. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute with some comments. I just read an article answering questions and myths about vaccination of horses for West Nile virus. To most horse owners, West Nile virus only meant centering on questions and facts pertaining to vaccination, disease symptoms, and how to reduce risks of the disease. Well, I actually got on the Internet (oh yeah with a lot of help from my wife) and found some interesting facts about the disease, not all related to the horse world. Of course everyone knows mainly our filthy little fiend the mosquito, spreads the virus. Uganda reported the first human case in 1937. The virus reached the United States in 1999 on our East Coast. Federal resources used to combat and study the disease include agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the EPA, the USDA, United States Geological Survey, and the Food and Drug Administration. Four different NASA systems and programs are used to research and formulate plans to control the virus for human as well as livestock and poultry safety. Equine cases rose from 25 reported in 1999 to over 15,000 in 2002, then down to 1,400 in 2004 as vaccination and natural immunity in some horses slowed the virus' spread. The next time I hear "West Nile virus" I'm sure I'll think about more than just horse vaccinations. I'm Jeff Keane. America's Horse March/April 2006