According to the Equine Disease Communication Center and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a Paso Fino stallion at a private facility in Marion County, Fla., has tested positive for West Nile. According to the EDCC alert, an unknown number of other horses have been exposed at the facility.
No quarantine has been issued.
A 20-year-old Paso Fino stallion was confirmed on Oct. 1 after showing signs of apprehension, depression, muscle twitching, incoordination, weakness of hind limbs and listlessness. The unvaccinated horse is affected and alive.
This is the fourth confirmed case of West Nile in Florida in 2024.
According to the Equine Disease Communication Center, West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus. WNV primarily causes disease in birds, humans, and horses and is transmitted by many different species of mosquitoes. Since 1999, more than 27,600 U.S. horses have been confirmed with WNV neuro-invasive disease with an estimated average case fatality rate of 30–40%. During 2002 alone, over 15,000 horses were affected in the U.S. WNV is now considered endemic with yearly activity in the U.S. (with an average 300 cases per year), Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
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