Agriculture
Secretary Art Brown Jr. said today that the death
last week of an Ocean County horse has been attributed
to infection with the West Nile virus (WNV). This
is the second equine death attributed to the virus.
The first one occurred in August in Cape May County.
According to State Veterinarian Dr. Ernest Zirkle,
the horse became ill on September 12 and had to
be euthanized on September 13. Blood and tissue
samples from the horse were tested at NJDA's animal
health laboratory for both Eastern and Western
equine encephalitis as well as equine infectious
anemia and WNV. Virus was found in the brain tissue
using the fluorescent antibody technique. Of the
diseases tested for, the results confirmed the
presence of WNV only. Horses become infected with
the WNV when infected mosquitoes bite them. 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. Last
year, 25 horses on Long Island were clinically
ill with neurological signs and there was evidence
of WNV infection. Nine of those horses died or
were euthanized. However, samples from clinically
normal horses that were stablemates of the affected
horses showed that more than one-quarter of them
had also been infected with WNV but never exhibited
any symptoms of the illness. In cooperation with
the state Department of Environmental Protection,
Department of Health and Senior Services and USDA,
NJDA has launched a proactive campaign to educate
horse owners about the precautions they must take
to decrease mosquito habitat, virtually the only
way horse owners can minimize the chance of an
animal being stricken with WNV. Recommended actions
include decreasing mosquito habitats near homes
and stable areas by emptying standing water from
cans, tires, swimming pool covers, clogged gutters
or other reservoirs which can serve as mosquito
breeding sites and by frequently changing the fresh
water in drinking troughs to prevent them from
becoming breeding sites Although there is no preventive
vaccine for WNV, equine encephalitis is a reportable
disease in New Jersey and is treated symptomatically.
Concerned horse owners should contact their veterinarians
for additional information or consultation about
specific cases of illness in their animals.
For
more information on WNV or mosquito spraying,
or to report dead birds and areas of standing
water where mosquitoes breed, residents should
call their local or county Departments of Health
and mosquito control agencies or visit the web
sites maintained by DHSS (www.state.nj.us/health),
DEP (www.state.nj.us/dep/mosquito),
the CDC (www.cdc.gov),
and NJDA (www.state.nj.us/agriculture/westnile.htm). |
