04/23/07 State vet urges vaccinations of horses for WNV

Washington Ag April 23, 2007 Although the first confirmed case of West Nile virus in a Washington state horse didn't occur until August last year, there is no guarantee it will take that long for WNV to show up in the 2007 mosquito season. Those words of caution from State Veterinarian Dr. Leonard Eldridge who says six positive cases of West Nile in horses were reported in the state last year. Eldridge is urging horse owners to vaccinate their horses against West Nile Virus as soon as possible. He also is recommending that horse owners take preventive measures to reduce opportunities for mosquitoes infected with the virus to bite horse populations. The USDA has announced the availability of nearly 11-million dollars in additional federal funding to implement an eradication strategy for potato cycst nematode in Idaho. Knighten: "It will be a five year program and more than likely we will eradicate this pest from Idaho." That's Claude Knighten of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. He says this will be a cooperative effort between USDA the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. Even Washington saw the Japanese market close to fresh potato exports when the nematode was found in Idaho last year though that market has since reopened for Washington growers. I'm Bob Hoff.