West Nile Virus cases in horses increase slightly in Tennessee

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Lynn Johnson owns four horses.

“I have a couple of Clydesdales, a Percheron, and a Saddlebred. I’ve had horses all of my life, I can’t imagine life without my horses,” Johnson said.

She said she sometimes shows her horses, but they’re predominately her pets.

“They’re really more than pets even, yeah, they’re part of your family,” Johnson said.

And for that, Johnson takes measures to prevent her horses from getting sick, that includes a vaccine to prevent West Nile Virus.

“I’ve known several people in the past that have lost horses to West Nile. So I vaccinate mine every year, and I advocate that everyone do that,” Johnson said.

The Tennessee State Veterinarian recently announced six reported cases of the West Nile Virus in the last ten days in horses in Tennessee, that includes Bradley, Cumberland, Sullivan, and Washington Counties.

“We can go several years and not see a case, but this seems to be an uptick. Six cases this time of year is not unheard of, but we wanted to let the horse community know and the veterinary community know that we’re seeing these cases so they can take the appropriate actions,” State Veterinarian Dr. Charles Hatcher said.

Horses can get West Nile Virus the same way humans can.

That’s through a mosquito bite.

The animal will show signs of being sick.

But, Dr. Hatcher said it’s rare a horse will die from the illness.

“Usually, if the horse has a good immune system they can have an illness that may not be detected or they could show signs of flu-like symptoms, which would be fever, weakness, loss of appetite,” Dr. Hatcher said.

“Part of the prevention is to on your farm or where your horses are kept, try to eliminate standing water sources, because that’s where the mosquitoes can breed, make sure that you manage your manure and dispose of it properly,” Dr. Hatcher said.

He also suggested that horses get vaccinated.

He said the vaccine is highly effective.

Humans cannot get the virus from horses.

But, Dr. Hatcher said that when they do have reported cases they let the health department know, because it gives an idea of how many mosquito-borne illnesses are out there.

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