From what I understand the figures are fed thru the Food and Drug Administration since this is still considered a trial drug. Each vet, at least in Florida, is supposed to record the information on the horse receiving the shot (date, whether it's the first one or the booster, and side affects, if any, etc.). This is one way of telling if the horse was given the shots as directed, especially the booster within the proper time after the initial vaccination. As far as I know this is being done nationally. The efficacy rate is not computed by the Fort Dodge Company, the manufacturer of the vaccine. Ya'll should really log onto that VETMED site although the WNV discussion has subsided somewhat, most likely due to the colder weather. My vet said she hasn't had a case in the last two weeks, so it's definitely on the downturn, even in Florida. But, my guess is next spring it will be back again, with a vengeance, especially if too many owners omit getting this vaccine. Keep in mind the protocol for using this vaccine determines the efficacy. If you get the initial shot but don't follow up with the booster in the proper time period, than your horse is not protected and, if your horse contracts WNV, it won't count against the vaccine. If I can find a webpage where these statistics are posted I'll put it out on Ridecamp, but I don't think such a site exists right now. Vetmed and my personal veterinarian, who has dealt with over 40 horses who have contracted the disease, have been my sources of information. That, plus over 200 current articles I've read about the vaccine. When a neighbor's horse dies from this disease, it tends to perk up one's interest in the subject. Next time I'll see my Vet I will ask her exactly where she's getting her efficacy numbers from. Take a look at the following paragraph from VETMED: "However, preliminary reports on the vaccine's safety and effectiveness looks good. Of the 20 000 equine animals vaccinated properly in 2001 in Florida, only one was known to have developed WNV infection." "Adequate supplies of WNV vaccine are available from the maker, but many owners have procrastinated about getting their horses immunized," said Dr. Conger. This Dr. being quoted here is the TAHC's state epidemiologist (I believe that's Tennessee Animal Health Control), somehow I don't see him throwing around figures for affect here. One animal out of 20,000 sounds like a pretty good vaccine to me. Course, we could always fall back on rumor or hearsay, since they're much more reliable and we all know that what is said in backrooms behind closed doors is most likely where the real truth lies. We all know this is just propaganda put out by Fort Dodge so they can get real rich; I'm sure this state epidemiologist is on their secret payroll. Hopefully, during this winter the facts will be there for all to see. I'm not sure where Heidi is getting her 70 percent from; I think it's just a number she threw out there for whatever reason. When I go and pick up my Health Certificate next week for my next out of state endurance ride I will find out what government agency is recording this data. I'm sure the numbers change daily, but they are definitely over 90 percent. Of course, even that won't be good enough for some folks here on Ridecamp; it amazes me how many seem to believe that the polio vaccine or the small pox vaccine had nothing to do with eliminating those diseases with us humans. Someone wrote to me and said it was indoor plumbing, not the vaccine, that eradicated polio. (That sounds like the sort of logic I use when I explain to a friend how my horse happened to get pulled at an endurance ride!) Needless to say, she doesn't vaccinate her horses much. I wonder if they have indoor plumbing installed in their stalls? cya, Howard (I bet a lot of horse owners felt the same way about EIA when it first popped out it's ugly head; unfortunately, because of the "Power of Coggins," you have to travel to China for that vaccine) ----- Original Message ----- From: Jennifer Judkins Sent: Monday, November 04, 2002 11:40 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] West Nile Vaccine "The efficacy of the vaccine is running about 97 per cent, nationally. Extremely healthy horses have contracted West Nile, including endurance horses (ask Truman if you don't believe me), so don't get a false sense of security by listening to those "Christian Science" type of horse owners who recommend not to vaccinate. These folks have left the world of "reality" and entered some sort of delusional moronic twilight zone where true science does not exist. Pity their horses." Howard, I didn't read in your post how 'they' are measuring the vaccine's efficacy. The uneducated person might assume that veterinary science and its research are perfectly done and without bias. I (and I hope you do too) know better. The problem is that people forget the difference between INCIDENCE (the number of patients who actually get sick from a disease) and PREVALENCE ( the actual number of patients who have had a measurable exposure to an illness, sick or not). The latter is hard to calculate without testing alot of healthy subjects, both vaccinated and non-vaccinated. My concern is that the scientific evidence you support is biased in that healthy horses are excluded from the calculations. Another way to put that, is there may be alot of healthy horses, even unvaccinated horses who are exposed to WNV and don't get sick and we don't know it because we don't test healthy horses. I would really be interested in how the efficacy is being calculated. Perhaps some of the Ridecamp Vets can shed som light on that topic. Is the Prevalence of WNV known with any accuracy? My experience is only with people vaccines. Jennifer.
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