The Nevada Department of Agriculture's Animal Disease and Food Safety Laboratory has notified the Washoe county Health District that a 6- year-old feral horse in the south Reno area has tested positive for WNV. According to the lab, the horse had not been vaccinated and was euthanized. This is the first positive identification of West Nile Virus in a horse or human in Washoe County in 2012.
The Washoe County Health District Vector Borne Disease Prevention Program will be increasing mosquito surveillance and conducting controlled early-morning fogging in the area where the horse was roaming, which has been identified as the Mira Loma, Damonte Ranch wetlands and Sage Hill Gun Club area.
The Health District maintains and tests several sentinel flocks of birds to monitor for WNV, and to date, no sign of the virus had been detected. The confirmation of an equestrian case of WNV however, now confirms that WNV is in our area. Another case of WNV was confirmed in a horse in Churchill County in late August, and the state's first human case was reported in Las Vegas on September 19. WNV activity in Nevada has been mild this season compared to Texas which has had at least 43 deaths and over 510 cases this year.
"We are not surprised to see West Nile Virus in our area," said Washoe County Health District Environmental Services Division Director Bob Sack. "West Nile usually surfaces here in northern Nevada this time of year and it's been a very active year nationwide. This is a reminder to all of us that we need to take precautions to keep the virus at bay." Sack stresses that to reduce chances of contracting the virus, people should remember:
- Clear areas around your home of any free-standing water that may become a mosquito breeding-ground;
- Mosquitoes bite in the early morning and evening so it is important to wear proper clothing and repellent containing DEET, picaradin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 according to label instructions. Repellents keep the mosquitoes from biting you. DEET can be used safely on infants and children 2 months of age and older.
- Make sure that your doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep mosquitoes out. Repair or replace screens with tears or holes; and,
- Vaccinate horses for WNV.
In Washoe County WNV-related illnesses were first seen in 2003. The largest number of cases ever reported in Washoe County was 17 WNV cases in 2006. Only one case of WNV was reported in Washoe County in 2011. The Washoe County Health District's Communicable Disease Program investigates all reported cases of diseases like WNV and presents those cases in the Communicable Disease Weekly Report. Residents are asked to report night-time mosquito activity to the District Health Department at 328-2434.
More information on WNV and the Washoe County Health District's Vector-Borne Disease Prevention Program can be found at www.washoecounty.us/health/ehs/vbdp.html.
From the Washoe County Health District
