5 Recommendations To Help Prevent Your Horse From West Nile Virus
5 Recommendations to help prevent your horse from West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus is arguably a severe disease that attacks humans, wild and domestic animals. Having its roots in the U.S. in 1999, over 25,000 cases of this disease have been reported, where 96.9% of these cases represent the horses. According to research done in Pennsylvania in 2000, a significant percentage of this virus is presumably found in birds, mosquitoes, and horses. If you are a horse lover and you are looking forward to keeping him safe from West Nile Virus, then prevention should be your ultimate goal. Before we have a look at the prevention measures, let’s comprehend how the virus gets to the horse.
How is the virus spread?
Birds are the primary carriers of the virus. Usually, mosquitoes bite the infected birds and in turn, bite on other wild and domestic animals, including horses. Infected horses or other animals are regarded as the end host; hence it can’t be transmitted from animals to animals.
Recommendations for West Nile Virus Prevention for Horses
1. Horse vaccination
Vaccinating your horse against West Nile Virus is important. Get the right vaccine purposely for the West Nile Virus. Note that vaccines for other types of the virus will not work. Do the vaccination at the right time and obviously don’t forget to consult your local veterinarian for more information.
2. Get rid of mosquito breeding areas
Stagnate water is undoubtedly a breeding ground for mosquitoes. While in stagnant water, mosquitoes take roughly 14 days to hatch. It is ideal to drain standing water or dump any containers that can hold water around where your horse lives.
3. Use insect repellants
Use mosquito repellant designed for horses. These repellants assist to keep off mosquitoes and other insects away from the horse. Mosquito repellant offers an alternative technique of preventing your horse against West Nile Virus. Since mosquitoes attack at dusk or at night, it is recommended to utilize the repellant at that time.
4. Secure your horses in enclosed stalls at night
Screening is the right way of keeping the mosquitoes at bay. However, all the mosquitoes should be removed inside the stall prior to utilizing the screens. Besides, utilizing a fan inside the stall is an awesome idea. Usually, mosquitoes don’t like windy areas and fans make them move faster than they should. Therefore, it becomes challenging for mosquitoes to find lactic acid and carbon dioxide from the horses.
5. Control lighting around the horse stalls
Light plays an integral role in the stalls. Majorly, mosquitos get attracted to light at night, particularly the yellow light. Also, the mosquito magnet patriot or stinger mosquito zappers are a great device. These devices are particularly tailored to attract and destroy mosquitoes. By installing any of these devices outside, the stall will significantly decrease the number of mosquitoes. Utilizing the device with yellow light will gear to increase the kill number.
Final word
Always implement the above recommendation to prevent your horse from West Nile Virus. Again, remember to reach out to your local veterinarian for more information about the WNL.
The Importance of Vaccinating and Deworming your Horse
The Importance of Vaccinating and Deworming your Horse
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