Truman, it is amazing how ignorant some vets can be about this virus. My vet here is still refusing to admit that we may be having problems in Ca. He wants to know, "have you personally seen the lab results". Even when I told him of the confirmed cases in Neb. he still thought I was lying or being lied to. There is no way in hell he would begin early treatment on any horse. He has to have "proof" first. And as you know, early treatment is the best way to beat this disease. If my friends vet had felt the same way, her horse could be dead by now, as it takes at least 5 days for the test results to come back. And yes, her horse did test positive for the virus. Since we were able to recognize it early and started treatment right away he is fine and his old self again. He didn't have any vaccines ahead of time. I think he was pretty much over his in about 4-5 days. Even if the problem isn't WNV the treatment won't hurt your horse, as apparently there is something going on, and the treatment really is only for inflammation. Lori B. ----- Original Message ----- From: Truman Prevatt Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2002 9:06 AM To: CatThom2@xxxxxxx Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Early Signs of WNV Since I have one in the pasture recovering from WN I'll give the history. First this horse was vaccinated in Nov 2001 and had a booster about 1 Aug 2002. On last Monday morning he just didn't seem right. He wasn't stumbling but he wasn't moving right either. Since it has been wet we checked for an abscess - none. But he didn't like standing on three legs with me checking the other one. He was just not walking right. His temp was normal. He was NOT off his feed. He was extremely sensitive to the touch. He didn't want his temp taken, nor his pulse taken or his gut sounds checked.
We called the vet who showed up in about 15 minutes did some coordination test and diagnosed it as WN and started treatment. Results came back Friday - positive. As far as vaccinations UF is estimating they are about 70% effective but if you do get WN and have the vaccination the case will be milder. So just because they are vaccinated doesn't mean they won't get it and it doesn't mean they won't require treatment if they do.
The signs can be subtle. It is neurological so any lack of coordination or other indications of neurological problems is a sure sign. If you see anything that is suspicious call the vet. The sooner treatment is started the better the chances. As Cathy states this is not something you mess around with. If you suspect it - get it treated.
Truman
CatThom2@xxxxxxx wrote:
Watch for impaired motor skills........not an occasional stumble, but the horse unable to walk a straight line as if they are drunk. They also may grind their teeth. No one knows your horse better than you so if you observe these symptoms I would get your vet out immediately. This is not a "wait and see" disease.
Cathy
|
