The first case of West Nile Virus infection in a horse was reported to come from Grimes County, Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed that the horse was positive since April.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this horse infection case is the first in the U.S for this year. The case was recorded June 18. Last year, the state health department tested over 120 horses and none of them were positive. Each horses were given vaccines against the virus though it wasn’t that 100 percent effective. True enough, the vaccine did not work because one horse caught the virus.
Last year, 41 states reported cases of the equine West Nile virus with over 627 horses infected. That was the highest in five years based on the records of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The highest in history was 15,257 cases back in 2002.
It seems that the West Nile Virus is really back as aside from this horse, a man from Anderson County was also identified to be infected. He was also the first this year. The state health department reported on May 24 that the man was already recovering from the complications brought by the disease.
The Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services had started spraying in the area to ward off a certain species of mosquito identified as carrier of the disease. Last year, 89 people died because of the virus.
The state health department warns locals to protect themselves from the virus by using insect repellents outdoors, wearing long sleeves and pants especially at dawn, turning on the AC, and putting screens on windows and doors to ensure the mosquitoes don’t enter the house.
According to the CDC, it is quite difficult to find out if one is already infected as the virus doesn’t show symptoms in almost 80 percent of the patients. Some may experience headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, and rashes. Some recover on their own time but some suffer from neurologic complications such as meningitis.
