West Nile Virus Vaccine Developed for Horses

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A vaccine has been developed to protect horses against the West Nile virus. New Mexico State University's Anna María Pérez-Wright has details.

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Horse owners can take advantage of a new vaccine developed to guard their animals against the sometimes fatal West Nile virus that's spread by mosquitoes. Entomologist Carol Sutherland with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service says horses should receive the sequence of shots before spring brings the next wave of mosquitoes.

"You have to wait a certain period of time between the first and the second shot and then there's additional time on the back of that, perhaps four to six weeks, perhaps a little bit longer to build up the immunity to the pathogen in the horse."

After the first sequence of shots, horses receive annual boosters to be protected continuously. Sutherland stresses that this vaccination is new and shouldn't be confused with vaccinations most horse owners already provide.

"West Nile virus is not the same as Western Equine Encephalitis, as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, any of these kinds of pathogens that a lot of people may remember is part of our spring series of shots for horses. And it doesn't have anything to do with other maladies that might affect livestock, things like tetanus or some of these other things that you might need an inoculation for."

For more information on the West Nile virus vaccine, call your veterinarian. For N-M-S-U's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, I'm Anna María Pérez-Wright.