At Freeport Equestrian Center, they’re concerned because the two species most likely to get West Nile are humans and horses. For us, we can make sure to wear long sleeves and bug spray, but horses have to depend on their owners to stay safe from the West Nile virus and worse.
Bugs like mosquitoes that can carry West Nile or eastern equine encephalitis, both potentially deadly to horses. The number one prevention is vaccine. There are horse vaccines for both diseases in fact.
Equine veterinarian Tom Judd and his team vaccinate about 600 horses a year.
But what about more common pets? Judd says there's some good news for dog and cat owners. “Dogs and cats, we know mosquitoes can deliver the virus to them but there appears to be very little problem with that disease in dogs and cats.”
Here are some of the most common symptoms of West Nile
-fever
-headache
-nausea
-vomiting
-skin rash
According to the CDC, there have been over 1,100 people infected with West Nile, almost half have been in Texas. The CDC says this is highest number of cases reported to them by this time of year since the disease was first found in the U.S. in 1999.
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