Race Horses Face New Medical Challenge With West Nile Disease

With horsemen still pondering over what treatment works best for equine protozoa myeloencephalitis (EPM), a new medical and potentially destructive disease has emerged in the form of West Nile encephalitis. Originally found only in Africa, eastern Europe and west Asia, this disease is an inflammation of the brain and can be caused by head injury, bacterial infections or most commonly, viral infections.

This disease first and still does occur in people, who get the disease from mosquitoes. Horses, especially those under high stress conditions, like race horses, are more likely to be affected dangerously as well. Horses also become infected through an infected mosquito bite.

There is no evidence to suggest that horses can transmit the disease to other horses or to people. In horses that do become ill, the virus infects the central nervous system and causes symptoms of encephalitis. Clinical signs of encephalitis in the horse include loss of appetite and depression, in addition to any combination of the following: fever, weakness or paralysis of the hind limbs, impaired vision, ataxia, head pressing, aimless wandering, convulsions, inability to swallow, circling, extreme excitability or coma.

Curiously enough, many of these symptoms are also prevalent with an EPM-stricken horse. These symptoms are also found in horses who have contracted rabies, botulism or other mosquito-born viral encephalitic diseases, such as Eastern, Western and Venezuelan flu viruses.

Diagnosis of West Nile is made through a blood test, and horsemen concerned that their horses may be showing signs of the disease should contact their respective Department of Agricultures within their states. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no specific treatment for West Nile in horses. No vaccines protest against this dreaded disease, as the current vaccines for Eastern, Western, and Venezuelan strains of equine encephalitis have found to be unsuccessful in the treatment of West Nile.

Researchers do have suggestions for fighting this disease. Since mosquitoes are attracted to incandescent bulbs that glow yellow, it is advised to place these light bulbs around the perimeter of the stable, to attract these pests away from the horses. Another safeguard is to remove all birds, including chickens, that are in the stable area.

Scientists studying West Nile say to check your property periodically for dead birds, such as crows and other scavenger types. Any suspicious birds should be reported to your Department of Health in your state, and it is advised to use gloves when handling these birds. If a farm owner finds a number of dead birds, he or she is cautioned to place them in plastic bags, in order to attempt to stop the spread of a possible West Nile contamination.

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