The Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health has received notification of multiple confirmed cases of West Nile Virus in horses across the state. Confirmed cases have been reported in Lyon, Seward, Neosho, Marion, and Wichita counties. West Nile is a preventable disease, with annual vaccinations that have proven highly effective. All of the confirmed cases in Kansas were in unvaccinated horses and horses with an unknown vaccination history so were assumed to be unvaccinated. All horse owners should consult with their local veterinarians and make a vaccination plan for their horses.
West Nile is a virus that can infect humans, horses, birds, and other species. Horses infected with the virus an have symptoms that range from depression, loss of appetite, and fever to severe neurologic signs such as incoordination, weakness, inability to rise, and hypersensitive to touch and sound. It can be fatal to horses. The virus is carried and transmitted by mosquitoes; it is not directly contagious from horse to horse or from horse to human.
