|
WNV
Vaccine Available Soon for Horses
Auburn, Aug. 31---A
new vaccine to protect horses from West Nile Virus (WNV) has
received a conditional license from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Dr. Cindy McCall, an
animal scientist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, says
the vaccine should be available by early fall.
"Horse owners will
have to purchase it from and have it administered by a
veterinarian," says McCall.
Dr. Tony Frazier, the
state veterinarian, says the vaccine manufacturer, Fort Dodge
Laboratories, is providing the first 25,000 doses of the vaccine to
states where there has been a confirmed equine death from WNV.
"The manufacturer
representative has assured me that Alabama veterinarians will
receive doses from the next production run," says Frazier.
"We're hopeful that means they will have it in hand by sometime
in September."
WNV, a mosquito-borne
virus, can cause encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain) in some
animals and sometimes in humans.
In 1999 and 2000, 85
horses were infected with the virus, and 32 died from the infection.
McCall says the vaccine
may be more expensive than the more routine vaccinations given to
horses.
"Cost may be
higher, but that's not really surprising," says McCall.
"There is only one manufacturer, and they probably have not
brought their production up to full capacity yet."
WNV was first identified
in the United States in 1999 in New York and has been spreading for
the last two years.
"WNV has now been
found in Alabama," said Ashley Rossi, wildlife biologist with
USDA's Wildlife Services, who is coordinating the interagency effort
to detect mosquito-borne viruses. "Four dead birds from the
Jefferson County area tested positive for WNV. It had been earlier
identified in Georgia, Florida and Louisiana."
"The virus is
spread by mosquitoes that get the disease from infected birds,"
says Rossi. "It's believed that migrating birds play a role in
spreading the disease."
She says more than 400
dead birds from 43 Alabama counties have been submitted for testing
for the virus. WNV testing of dead birds is limited to crows, jay
and raptors. Raptors are birds of prey including hawks, eagles and
owls.
In addition to
monitoring the state's wild bird population for the disease,
scientists are also collecting mosquito samples and examining them
for the virus. This year, more than 83,000 mosquitoes have been
collected from 18 Alabama counties.
SOURCE: Dr. Cindy McCall, Animal Scientist, Alabama
Cooperative Extension System, (334) 844-1556
|
