West Nile virus has been confirmed in a horse that died in Lambton County.
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The virus was confirmed Sept. 16 in a three-year-old standardbred filly, according to the Ontario Animal Health Network website. The horse was unvaccinated, according to the post.
Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness is listed as the source of the information.
“This filly was found down by the owner and developed muscle fasciculations (spontaneous contractions) of the head and shoulder,” the post says.
Lambton Public Health said it was notified Tuesday by the ministry,
“The presence of West Nile virus has been established in Lambton County through local surveillance and we continue to encourage Lambton County residents to remain vigilant and take precautions to prevent exposure to mosquitoes that could carry West Nile,” the local public health agency said.
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The first human case of West Nile virus this year in Lambton was confirmed in late August, according to Lambton Public Health. Mosquitoes collected Aug. 14 from a trap in Corunna also tested positive for the virus.
It has said one human case of West Nile was confirmed locally in 2023, and there have been six lab-confirmed local human cases since 2016.
West Nile spreads to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes, but most infected individuals do not get sick,
Those who do become ill usually experience mild flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, skin rash or muscle aches, officials said. Fewer than one per hundred of those infected become seriously ill.
Use repellents containing DEET or Icaridin, and wear protective, light-colored clothing to help reduce the risk of mosquito bites, officials said.
People are also encouraged to drain standing water on their properties to reduce mosquito breeding.
There are West Nile Virus vaccines approved for use in horses and up to one-third of all horses showing clinical signs of the virus will die, according to a provincial government website.
The Ontario Animal Health Network website also listed reports in September of cases of West Nile Virus confirmed in horses in Sudbury District, Prescott and Russell and Simcoe County.
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