College of Veterinary Medicine

Case of the Month

• On July 5, many birds were found dead in a park that had hosted a Fourth of July celebraAon the night before. The birds were assumed to be dead because of fireworks from the night before.
• A week later, a veterinarian was called to a local horse stable. About 10% of the horses showed signs of ataxia and muscle fasciculaAon. Some were recumbent.
• Three horses (30% case-­‐fatality) died and a post-­‐mortem examinaAon was performed. Brain and spinal cord Assue were submiQed for immunohistochemistry based off of a clinical suspicion from management pracAces.
• IHC was posiAve for West Nile Virus.
• SupporAve therapy and isolaAon of infected horses was implemented.
• The remaining clinical horses recovered

Differentials

Question

Differential diagnoses for neurological signs in horses include all the following except...

1. Western Equine Encephalitis
2. Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis
3. Equine Herpes Virus
4. Rabies
5. All of the above are appropriate differentials for neurological signs

Control and Prevention

Question

The single best strategy for preventing West Nile cases in horses is...

Zoonosis

Question

Most humans infected with West Nile Virus have what symptoms?

1. Encephalitis
2. Mild flu-like symptoms
3. No symptoms
4. Respiratory distress

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