Governor Schwarzenegger Declares State of Emergency in California Counties Hit Hardest by West Nile Virus

With the number of people in California infected this year with West Nile Virus (WNV) three times higher than the same time last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is declaring a state of emergency in Kern, Colusa and San Joaquin counties to prevent the spread of this mosquito-borne disease.

On August 3, the Center for Equine Health at the University of California at Davis issued a West Nile Virus alert on its web site saying, “The Center for Equine Health would like to remind horse owners to remain vigilant about keeping their horses’ vaccinations current and to follow recommendations to prevent the spread of this mosquito-borne disease.”

This year there have been five human deaths in California due to West Nile Virus; 64 human cases from 15 counties have tested positive for WNV in 2007. There have been 22 new WNV positive human cases reported in California this week.

On the equine front, five horses from three counties have tested positive for WNV in 2007.

There are many fewer horse cases of the disease this year, but the human cases are skyrocketing, from 20 at this time in 2006 to 64 this year.

California has created a very informative web site on West Nile at http://westnile.ca.gov/

Image shows the tiger mosquito, common host for West Nile Virus. Photo courtesy of Centers for Disease Control.

CATEGORIES

TAGS

SHARE THIS STORY

Related Posts

COVER EQ_EXTRA-VOL88
Do right by your retired horse
COVER EQ_EXTRA-VOL87
Tame your horse’s anxiety
COVER EQ_EXTRA-VOL86 Winter Care_fnl_Page_1
Get ready for winter!
COVER EQUUS Key 14 Equestrian Vacations_fnl_Page_1
Equestrian vacations

NEWSLETTER

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Country*

Additional Offers

Additional Offers
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.