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

I agree with a lot of what you say, Maryanne, but just a few comments to
add...

Yes, WNV has been in the Middle East for a long time and isn't a big deal.
However, North America is what's called a "naive" population---no prior
exposure whatsoever, no protective antibodies from mom through the
colostrum, no warning.  A bad bug comes along and yes, the immune system
will automatically mount an attack against it.  The trick is having enough
time to mount an immune response before the disease kills you.  If the
disease isn't nasty enough to kill you, no big deal.  If the disease is
virulent and ugly enough, too bad, you die.  Want an example, check what
happened to numerous native populations when the Europeans arrived with
their common, everyday bugs.  Shazam, most of the population is wiped out.
So there *is* a difference between WNV in Egypt vs WNV in North America, at
least until it's prevalent enough here that most horses have been exposed
and had a chance to adapt immunologically.

As for the vaccine making Fort Dodge and the practice veterinarians
rich...well, I doubt it.  Actually, I can't speak for what it costs Fort
Dodge to make the stuff or what their profit is.  I know that the vet's cost
for a 10-dose vial is about $112, so call it $11 a dose.  It seems the
average cost for the vet to administer it is $20 a pop.  Sorry, nine dollars
for the vet just doesn't seem all that outrageous to me.  Vets have to make
a living, too, most carry A LOT of student debt to have gotten that degree
in the first place and I know very, very few equine vets that make what I
would call a luxurious living.  But, enough of that and I'm off the soapbox.

I can't speak as to the specific efficacy of the vaccine.  I hate
epidemiology, was thrilled to just pass the class and move on.<g>  I asked
CSU's pet vet/epidemiologists if they thought the WNV was effective enough
to be worth it, and they said yes.  So did the equine medicine people who
are all a lot smarter than I am.  That was good enough for me.  My guys all
got the vaccine.  Worse case scenario, I've spent a hundred bucks for
something that I hope will help protect them against the disease until WNV
becomes entrenched enough here that all the horses are immune.

BTW, the local news here in Denver has been pretty responsible about
reporting, including a lot of interviewing going on here at the vet school.
No panties in a wad that I could see.

Susan G

----- Original Message -----
From: "Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <maryanne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 1:49 PM
Subject: [RC] WNV in Colo - Rant Warning


>
> 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
>
>
> ``This has been something we have known is coming,'' said Dr. Ned Calonge,
> the state's acting chief medical officer. ``Even with the presence of the
> virus in our state, the chances of any one person becoming seriously ill
is
> remote.''
>
> The virus was first detected in the United States in 1999. From that year
> through 2001, the CDC confirmed 149 human cases and 18 deaths.
>
> Most people who get it see mild flulike symptoms, or no symptoms at all.
But
> it can cause encephalitis, a potentially fatal swelling of the brain,
> especially in older people and people with weakened immune systems.
>
> On the Net:
> State health department: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us
> CDC: http://www.cdc.gov
> 08/15/02 19:33 EDT
>
>
>
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