[appgirl]

OMG I COULD CRY ,
So yesterday we went to pay for our hay bill, we pull in the drive way and go in the barn and is standin there with her yearling petting him and looking upset. (actually she looked like she had been crying) We asked her whats wrong and she siad the her boy had been diagnosed with west nile. BUt get this he had all of his shots this spring. THe lady has only left the bar to get food anf feed the others. She says it hard to watch him because his knees wont lock so he can t slee p standing up anymore and if he lies down he can barely get back up. IT super sad though because if you just looked at his head youd never guess anything was wrong he is allerte and happy and very loving but can hardly move.
also there is another horse around here that was diagnosed and had its shots. what is going on ?

~appgirl~

[Cntrysass20]

Are you sure they had the WNV shot? WHICH one? Fort Dodge or Merial? Were they boostered correctly 3-4 weeks after the 1st shot? How long ago was the last shot? How did they prove WNV? Use a lab? Sorry to ask so many questions and I am honestly sorry for them and I hope everything turns out okay.

Jessie

[Moostang]

Vaccines don't guarantee they wont get it, if they do it is supposed to at least help, but with the way virus' mutate I wouldn't be surprised with such a newer virus that the vaccine doesn't have a high rate.

[lovemyshy]

awe gosh, that is so sad, I feel bad for them.

Unfortunetly vaccinating for anything does not mean that they (or we) will not get the virus, it just means that their (our) bodies have the antibodies that are needed to fight the virus better.

I worked at a dude ranch where we faithfully vaccinated against rhino (and the other usual vacs) every year. One year we just happened to bring in a mare that had the infection and it spread through our vaccinated herd like wild fire. The fortunate thing was that we didn't lose one horse because their bodies were prepared, it was just a very expensive vet bill for the owner with all the meds she had to buy.

[JBandRio]

Is the yearling being treated? It's not a death sentence, though it can kill.

[Blistering Winds]

Have they altered the test?

if a horse has been vaccinated, they have tested positive for the "virus" on the last test I knew about. the test could not decipher between vaccinated and affected horses.....


how SURE are they???

[4hooves4me2]

I have walked that path-and it is not fun...

If the horse is getting down, and having trouble getting up, it is a pretty bad case.

Unfortunately-it is a bad thing to deal with, BUT-caught early they can be saved. Koko has NO signs of it at all-that he had it, and he had a pretty good hit on it. When he got it all our shots in Indiana had been mandated to go to Kentucky. I was on the list to get mine...and bam-there we went. He just plain could NOT find the ground under him-he would step, and that foot would search for the ground, it was one of the worst things I ever had to watch. We started his treatments before we had the results back-thank goodness. I slept with him, out in the yard. I kept ice turbines on his head-when he would laydown, he layed by my lawnchair, and I would put my arm across him. I didn't care he smelt like a big old oyster! The vet painted a grim pic of our situation, and to this day she is amazed he made it, with NO complications from it. He did however forget ALL his training. We had to start over. THAT was sad-but physically-he is great-and he rides well again.

I was told today that the WN shot is only effective 80% of the time. I don't know how true that is-but it certainly is scary...I do not EVER want to witness that again. Everytime I have a horse take a false step, I half wig out.

[appgirl]

cntrysass20- I dont min all the questions, yes the vacinations were given correctly with boosters and everything. Im not sure if it was fort dodge or merial. I dont think they used a lab he just had / has all the right symtoms for it.
moostang- me and my mom were saying the same thing.
lovemyshy- THat ,ust of sucked at least they all pulled through. At least in this case there is only one horse sick.
jbandrio- yes he is getting treated. He is having morning and evning check ups and i think he is getting shots or something ( i forgot to ask her she was wayy to upset t really really talk aout it)
blistering winds- i dotn thik they rean a test its just that he has every symtoom in the book.
4hooves4me2- i really hope her boy gets better like yours she could care less if he forgets his training and she has to re halter break hi she just really really wants him to pull through.

THanx everyone for you comments this has really scared me like this i crazy bothering me today when i was out with elmo if i saw a musquito i just about cried cause i so scared of elmo getting it like this was 3 miles from my house.

[Morri]

Here is a good article on West nile
Merck Veterinary Manual
It appears that ~10% of properly immunized horses do not produce neutralizing antibodies to WNV and that 2.3-3% of equine WNV cases are seen in fully vaccinated horses. The duration of immunity from vaccination with the killed, adjuvanted WNV vaccine is unknown. It has been recommended that a booster be given every 3-4 mo in regions where the virus is active >3-4 mo/yr. A recombinant canarypox vaccine carrying protective prM/E genes of WNV was also licensed in 2003, but has not yet been scrutinized under field conditions. In initial experimental trials, all of the immunized horses (28) developed a detectable neutralizing antibody response. In a second study that involved a WNV-infected mosquito challenge of vaccinated and control horses, neither developed clinical signs of disease. All of the vaccinated horses were protected from viremia 2 wk after the primary vaccination and 1 vaccinated horse developed viremia when challenged 1 yr after the initial series, while 80% of the control horses developed a detectable viremia.

Hoping for the best!

[BettyBootsy]

It's important when you revacs that your time doesn't laspe or if it does to give a booster shot. I think a lot of it has to do with people not boostering there vacs right. I also had my stud come down with the WNV and he wasn't vacs for it but hes is now. We hauled him in the same day he came down with it and he recovered just fine after almost 2 weeks at the vets iv's and all. There are many horses that don't fully recover weather it be nuro. problems or whatever there are some long term side effects from it and many deaths.