Ridecamp: Re: [RC] WNV in Colo - Rant Warning

For what it is worth there was an epidemiologist on NPR the other 
morning talking about WNV. He made some very important points. First WN 
is very mile compaired to the other two forms of encephalitis that 
infact people in the US, St. Louis and Eastern Equine. St Louis doesn't 
infect horses. Both St. Louis and EEE are much more severe. However, at 
the present time there are as many cases of St Louis reported as of now 
as there is West Nile, but no one knows that.

Secondly many people (and horses ) have had or have now WN but show no 
symptoms.

Third is that it is new to this country and the immune systems have not 
accominated to it as yet. This is true of both the host and the carriers 
(birds). Over time this will happen and it will be less of a problem.

He went on to say not to panic over this and this is not the first new 
virus that has come into this country and it won't be the last.

Truman

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani wrote:

> Those last few paragraphs are SOOOO worth reading carefully.
>
> All the pet lists have their knickers in a knot over WNV to the extent that
> I almost automatically delete when I see it in a subject line. Please
> people, stop and think sometimes how things look to the rest of the world.
> Here is the US with vets dashing about (making big bucks for Fort Dodge with
> an unproven vaccine, BTW...not to mention the house call to administer)
> vaccinating every horse in sight and people going ballistic over whether or
> not one dog has been infected, and I'm living in a country where not only is
> the disease EVERYWHERE but you can't even get tested for it. I love my
> horses as much as the next person and my 14 dogs too. As my family will
> testify, there's more money spent on food for animals in my household than
> there is on food for people.
>
> I don't vaccinate my horses for WNV. I don't see why I should pay to be a
> guinea pig for Fort Dodge (a perfectly decent pharmaceutical company whose
> canine vaccines I do use regulary).  I see more horses dropping dead here
> from improper and over-feeding (among the wealthy) than from WNV. The media
> need to do a SERIOUS reality check. For what it's probably cost to test all
> those crows, we could have built a couple of good clinics and stocked and
> staffed them for a year. We live in a biosphere with all sorts of life
> forms, including WNV. Just because it's become a media pet, doesn't make it
> the monster from the black lagoon or something. Chill.
>
> Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
> Cairo, Egypt
> maryanne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.ratbusters.net




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