Horse caught West Nile late in season

Daily American Republic

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Despite cooler temperatures and a dwindling mosquito population, a horse in Carter County recently became ill with West Nile virus, a veterinarian said.

"I think most people feel that once it starts to get cooler, mosquitoes are no longer a problem," said Dr. Kim Heise, the Carter County veterinarian who treated the horse last month. "Evidently they can be for awhile."

Mosquitoes carry the disease, which infected 809 horses in Missouri this year. One horse in Butler County, seven in Dunklin County and 15 in Stoddard County were sickened by the virus this year, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

When Heise was first called to examine the horse, it was staggering and displaying other neurological problems, she said. It had also hemorrhaged into an eyeball, a symptom not normally associated with West Nile, she said.

She drew blood for tests, then treated the horse with an anti-inflammatory drug and a seven-day course of a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Recently, the University of Missouri Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed that the horse did indeed have West Nile.

"Once we got those results, the horse was already recovered," Heise said. "A lot of times, that's not the case."