West Nile Virus in Horses

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I'd like to know if anyone has contacted their vets about getting the "conditionally approved" vaccine for horses? Here in Wyoming they're making a fuss about it hitting us this year. I live along an irrigation ditch and always end up with standing water and lots of mosquitos. Any suggestions or comments appreciated.

-- (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), April 12, 2002

Answers

Our vet recommended it, and as we are a rice field area with LOTS of summer mosquitoes, we are getting it. Blitz is getting her booster tomorrow. Had the first one three weeks ago.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

We're in NC. Our vet recommended that we vaccinate against West Nile virus, so we vaccinated our three horses and donkey. I figure that if it's a possibility, then I'd rather have the vaccine . . . a lot cheaper (financially and emotionally) than dealing with the disease itself.

-- Julie Woessner (jwoessner@rtmx.net), April 12, 2002.

It's the "conditionally approved" part that gets me. When the vaccine first came out I asked my Vet about it, he said that from what he's read it won't hurt but it probably won't help either. He doesn't like Fort Dodge products anyway and they haven't proven that vaccine will work at all.

Does anyone know if there's any current information on the vaccine that I can read? I did a quick web seach via Google but didn't find much.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy (KincoraFarm@aol.com), April 13, 2002.


I am in Ohio and my Vet also recommended it. The horses got their first shot a week ago and a booster in three more weeks. Vet says that it hasn't been around here but is carried by birds,especially blue jays and has a 40% mortality rate in horses.

-- Joanie (ber-gust@prodigy.net), April 15, 2002.

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