West Nile virus (WEST NILE VIRUS (WNV)), one of the infectious viruses that infects horses and humans, through the bites of mosquitoes, which plays a fundamental role in the transmission of the disease.
West Nile virus is West Nile fever, a type of virus called “flavivirus – FLAVIVIRUS”, which exists in nature and infects birds and through a common transmission cycle between mosquitoes and birds.
It is transmitted to vertebrates, and from there to humans and horses, through the bite of infected mosquitoes, while West Nile fever virus transmission from infected horses to uninfected horses has not been proven directly. The first outbreak of West Nile fever was recorded in 1999 in the United States of America, and the disease is also found in “Africa, Europe, the Middle East, West and Central Asia.”
Transmission cycle:
Birds are the first person infected with the virus in West Nile fever, and it is called the host, as the virus is one of the viruses that infect birds. It is possible for the virus to be transmitted from one bird to another in the cages, and some infected birds show symptoms of the disease and die while others are infected but do not show any symptoms.
And mosquitoes are the carrier of the virus in West Nile fever by biting infected birds, and therefore they are carriers of the virus and in turn transmit it to humans and horses. Also, through the bites of infected mosquitoes, the virus is transmitted to mammals and from there to horses and humans.
Also, the mosquitoes carrying the virus transmit it from one bird to another, so that the end of the virus in the mammals “man-horse” means that the virus is not transmitted from horses to other horses or from one person to another.
Symptoms of the disease on horses:
West Nile virus infection in horses is not always accompanied by pathological symptoms, as only 10% of horses show symptoms of the disease, and the virus infects the central nervous system of horses, which leads to encephalitis, and meningitis “meningeal membranes of the brain and spinal cord.” As the incubation period of the disease is often “from 5 to 15 days.”
Among the pathological symptoms that reflect the neurological nature of it are the appearance of West Nile fever, imbalance, weakness and paralysis of the menus, lying down, poor eyesight, inability to swallow, muscle spasms, muscle stiffness, and paralysis of the facial nerves, as the percentage “from 38 to 57% “Of an infected horse that has these symptoms dies.
There is no specific treatment for West Nile fever in horses, but there is vaccination against the virus and when any of the previous symptoms appear, the specialist veterinarian must be contacted.
To screen for it and diagnose the disease, the specialist veterinarian usually isolates the affected horse and gives supportive treatments only according to the case.
Prevention of West Nile fever
Following the vaccination program against viral diseases, including West Nile fever, is considered one of the basic steps for preventing the disease, with the new horse quarantine in a place far from the horses in the stable for a period of 21 days to ensure that they are free of diseases.
Keeping horses as much as possible in closed places during periods or seasons of increasing mosquitoes to reduce the rate of disease transmission, reduce the proportion of lighting during times of mosquito activity, and operate fans inside the stables to keep mosquitoes away from the horse.
Fog should also be sprayed with flying insect repellents sprayed on the horse’s body (available in the market), with the removal of any place inside or outside the stables and paddocks that contain stagnant water, which helps the spread of mosquitoes.
And cleaning the drinking basins for the horses periodically, and putting nets on the windows of the stables to prevent the entry of mosquitoes. And periodic cleaning of drains and cesspools for the drainage of the stables, and the removal of birds’ nests from the roofs and places near the stables, as a precautionary measure from the West Nile fever.
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