Westnille-hits Texas

[ChewmonkeyBC]

WESTNILLE IS HERE IN TEXAS AND HAS HIT LOUISANA TOO ALREADY 30 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM THIS-
MOSQUITOS GIVE IT TO A BIRD,AND THEN THE BIRD IS INFECTED AND DIES,AND THE MOSQUITOS CAN BITE U AND U CAN DIE FROM IT-
YOUNG KIDS AND OLDER PEOPLE HAVE A BIGGER CHANCE OF DYEING FROM THIS_


] I have a question-if this can go to horses and bird,couldnt our pets get it??
lIke our cats?????

Please post you opinon!
-Kayla

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't know. I've never heard of this disease. Maybe there's some info about it on the internet.

[AmberLee]

I believe she's referring to West Nile. It's in the news, but not too much firm data that I've seen.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

We had a report on our local news tonight that the West Nile virus is now in Kansas. A horse that died last week has tested positive for it. From what I hear any animal or bird that is bitten by a mosquto can get it but it only makes older or weak individuals sick. So far no people in Kansas have been diagnosed with it and no deaths. I'm not sure the horse died from it or if it just had it. They have said there is no cure for it. We have a river which runs through our town. I don't know what part of Kansas the horse was in but I do know that Oklahoma has had cases too. It's on the move.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Yes, it's on the move, but there are only, like, 5 people that have actually died from it - not 30. A lot of people have gotten it, including 2 in the Chicago area (one was a girl from Maryland doing an internship here), but very few have died from it. It's probably more dangerous to animals since they are outside all the time, and we don't put bug spray on them.

On another note, a bat with rabies was found on the Northwest side of Chicago and they are warning people to get their pets shots updated and beware of strange acting animals. I thought of Edwina and Elizabeth because of the coonies they have. Be careful out the Lady Edwina.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

The news update tonight said that West Nile is something we will have to put up with every year from now on and that most people won't even get sick if bitten. If they do, it would be a flu-like symptom. We have to watch the rabies here too. There are lots of bats, racoons, possum and other wild life here. Racoons and skunks are especially bad.

[ChewmonkeyBC]

Sorry if I am getting this all wrong,but first we heard that it was 30 people and then sumin else,its hard to keep up with,now its moving up to Arkanasa,they have on person that had West Nile but the hospital will not give out the name the age or the sex of the person,weird,and they have found one Chiken with Westnile that i know about.....Im not real sure i know how many people have died from it,because the numbers keep changing on the news,i will have to go to Dog General where i posted there too on it.........


-Kayla

[pupper-lover]

West Nile is here in Arkansas, too. So far I have heard of no people contracting the disease. I have also heard no news of anyone's pets getting sick here either (Although, I did here about the horse in Kansas). They are spraying for mosquitos at least bi-weekly in many areas. I live on the river and have had no problems. If you are worried about protecting yourself, try using a skinsafe bug repellent before going outside. My dogs have never had a mosquito bite that I know of. I would assume that the Frontline I use on them is keeping away most of the biting buggers. However, I do not think that West Nile is an extreme threat to most healthy people and animals. Just watch for bug bites followed by flu-like symptoms. If you have questions, you may want to contact someone in your local area. They would probably be able to tell you more about the situation.

[ChewmonkeyBC]

Thanks

-Kayla

[catland]

Even though there are no cases of West Nile here in Oregon, it is making the news here also.

Some general precautions include -

Get rid of any standing water (mosquito breeding grounds).
Don't go out at dusk (mosquito feeding time) unless you are wearing long sleaves and repellant.
Watch out for symptoms for those who are elderly or otherwise sick - younger, healthier people won't have as much of a problem and if exposed, will probably develop an immunity to the virus.

Also, you can do some searches on the web to see if you are in a state that reports cases of West Nile. From the most recent map that I saw, this is mostly in the east and central states. But I know that within a year or two, those of us on the west coast will probably be seeing it also. There is really just no way to stop something like this from spreading.

[elarkin]

West Nile hit Colorado this week so it's big news here. The news said there are vaccinations for horses but nothing for humans. Additionally, small pets are not susceptible to it according to the paper. (Thank goodness too because Teddy, Ellie, Budgie and Simon are our kids and I would be devastated if anything happened to them.) If you have horses check with your vet about getting the vaccine.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Originally posted by elarkin
West Nile hit Colorado this week so it's big news here. The news said there are vaccinations for horses but nothing for humans. Additionally, small pets are not susceptible to it according to the paper. (Thank goodness too because Teddy, Ellie, Budgie and Simon are our kids and I would be devastated if anything happened to them.) If you have horses check with your vet about getting the vaccine.

Foxx News carried this story today. It's interesting that they can vaccinate horses but not people. It seems to work this way a lot in medicine. When Glucosimine (for joint health) came out, it had been used in Europe on horses and animals for years. Just an observation.

[popcornbird]

It hasn't arrived here on the west coast yet, but they said it may. I have two pet birds........................they said that it mostly affects crows, ravens, and chickens. Can it infect parrots too? My birds are always indoors, though. .......................... This seems to be worse than malaria. May God protect us from it.

[AmberLee]

I found this article in Slate on-line magazine that I thought you'd be interested in. Horses have a West Nile Vaccine, why don't people?