CHESTERTOWN — A horse in Kent County tested positive last week for West Nile Virus, the county health department announced in a news release Tuesday, Aug. 20.
The horse had been vaccinated for the virus and has recovered, a Kent County Health Department spokesperson told The Evening Enterprise in an email Wednesday.
An out-of-state veterinarian tested the horse late last week and the results were reported to the Maryland Department of Health on Friday, Aug. 16.
“The horse has been treated, is healthy, and is currently back on the farm,” the Kent County Health Department spokesperson said in Wednesday’s email.
No information was available on what symptoms the horse experienced, and the KCHD did not identify the farm or its location.
At this time no humans or other animals have been infected, according to the health department news release.
West Nile Virus, a mosquito-borne disease that affects the nervous system, is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then transmit WNV to humans and animals when biting to take a blood meal.
In rare instances, the virus may be spread from person to person through organ donation, blood transfusion, breastfeeding, or from pregnant mother to fetus.
According to the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s animal health division, signs of West Nile Virus include fever, loss of appetite, head pressing, depression or personality change, wobbling or staggering, weakness, blindness, convulsions, muscle spasms in the head and neck, or hind-limb weakness.
In general, according to the email from the Kent County Health Department, “animals infected with West Nile Virus are not quarantined because they are not carriers of the disease and do not spread it to other animals or humans.”
The KCHD reminds the community that the West Nile Virus is an endemic disease in the region — i.e., consistently present in a certain geographic area — that typically peaks in the summer and early fall months.
Despite a dry start to the summer, recent heavy rains can contribute to an increase of the mosquito population, which can lead to an increased risk of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus.
A horse in Frederick County tested positive for West Nile Virus last month. That horse also was vaccinated and has recovered, according to the state ag department.
No West Nile Virus vaccines are licensed for use in humans.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in the absence of a vaccine, prevention of WNV disease depends on community-level mosquito control programs to reduce vector densities, personal protective measures to decrease exposure to infected mosquitoes, and screening of blood and organ donors.
Personal protective measures include use of mosquito repellents, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and limiting outdoor exposure from dusk to dawn.
Using air conditioning, installing window and door screens, and eliminating standing water that collects where mosquitos might breed (birdbaths, flower pots, tarps or wading pools) can further decrease the risk for WNV exposure.
More information on personal protective measures can be found on the CDC Mosquitoes website, https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/prevention/index.html