Apparently, this summer is going to be a banner year for West Nile Virus. Im not an insect person, so I have no idea how we have mosquitoes when we have had no rain in forever and surging temperatures every day (mosquitoes can lay eggs in dust and dried up grass?), but its shaping up to be a 'bad' year for West Nile.
'Bad' is relative, though. A 'bad' year for West Nile in humans isnt really that bad (compared to other things), so there is not much motivation to formulate a human West Nile vaccine.
Thats not true for horses, however.
Mosquito-born illnesses like West Nile and Eastern equine encephalitis virus have a 30-40% and 75-90% mortality rate, respectively, in horses. So, we have anti-West Nile and anti-EEE vaccines that provide protection for ~95% of horses, with two doses.
Of course, for the vaccines to work, you have to give them to your horses.
Unvaccinated Glenn County horse has West Nile virus
A horse from an area near Orland has been diagnosed with West Nile virus equine infection, the first case diagnosed in Glenn County in almost eight years, and is not likely to survive, county officials said. The animal had not been vaccinated against the virus, they said.
How does that horse get to die?
In a small percentage of cases, WNV overwhelms the immune system and penetrates the blood-brain barrier resulting in inflammation of the brain and spinal cord called West Nile encephalitis. Clinical signs include: loss of appetite and depression, fever (101° F or higher for two or more days), weakness of hind limbs, paralysis of hind limbs, muscle fasciculations (twitching or trembling), impaired vision, ataxia (incoordination), head pressing, head tilt, aimless wandering, convulsions, paralysis of the muzzle or tongue, droopy ear, vertigo, drowsiness, narcolepsy, inability to swallow, circling, hyperexcitability or coma. Horses that are recumbent and reluctant to rise are least likely to survive.
In this economy, animal shelters/rescues are overwhelmed-- not just with dogs and cats, but with horses and donkeys and llamas and such. It is possible this poor horse was not vaccinated because its owner could not afford to vaccinate it.
Its also possible that the horses owner was an anti-vaxer. Considering this happened in California, its a viable possibility. What kind of 'advice' can horse owners get from other anti-vaxers?
If you choose not to vaccinate, your horse should be on supplemental Beta Glucan, Colostrum, Missing Link and an assortment of immune boosting herbs, including Garlic, as well as a monthly homeopathic Nosode specifically for West Nile. The Nosode is in a dose of 15 sugar pills about the size of a pencil tip and they can be dissolved and syringed into the mouth or the tiny pellets can be put directly on the gum. The cost to immunize with a WNV Nosode is generally less than the price to vaccinate.
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Don't just vaccinate because the media are playing up the threat of West Nile, and the vet pharmaceuticals are heavily advertising their vaccines. Question all statistics, particularly those attributing equine deaths to WNV. Call your local health departments, veterinary colleges or veterinary hospitals. Voluntary euthanasia does not mean the horse died of the disease; the euthanasia occurred because many vets are telling people there is no cure, therefore giving horse owners little hope. Uninformed consumers are needlessly putting down animals that could overcome the virus with a little extra care, homeopathic remedies, and a better immune system from better nutritional practices.
Be realistic, and weigh the evidence as well as the area in which you live to determine the risk factors. A horse with a healthy immune system and proper nutrition can naturally fight off a virus such as West Nile and would not have any noticeable symptoms. Talk to your vet and re-evaluate your feeding practices and supplement program to make sure your horse is healthier and has a good immune system.
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Nosodes are homeopathic "immunizations" as opposed to "vaccinations." They are made the very same way as a homeopathic remedy, by dilution, and succussion, except they are made from the "discharges" when an organism (animal or human) gets sick. For example, a distemper Nosode is made from the nasal discharge from an infected dog, a Parvo Nosode is made from the diarrhea of an infected animal, and the EPM Nosode is made from the spinal cord of an EPM positive horse.
Using a homeopathic West Nile Nosode in place of vaccines has been shown to prevent the disease, as it "immunizes" your horses safely (as opposed to chemically "vaccinating" them). One source for the West Nile Nosode is through www.holisticvetclinic.net. The directions for usage of the Nosode are simple and it is very cost effective, as a 1 dram bottle will treat 3 horses for one year at a cost of $20.00.
I do not know of any allopathic treatment available for WNV, once a horse becomes infected; however, there are homeopathic remedies that do treat WNV effectively with no side effects.
Dear Jessica Lynn-- You are a horrible, horrible person. There is no reason why any horse should have to suffer through a WNV infection. There is no reason why any horse should die from WNV infection. We have a vaccine, we dont need glorified sugar cubes.
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Central Florida is big on horses. Years ago WNV and EEE were occasional concerns. Both are pretty much endemic now and every year there is a campaign to alert horse owner to get their animals vaccinated.
Florida seems to be reverting to the disease ridden fetid swamp it was in the past. And it isn't just horses. There was a confirmed case of feline panleukopenia in central Florida and several previously rare tropical diseases are now commonly seen in people around south Florida. And cases are showing up farther north every year. It's a jungle down here.
I hear there is also a vaccine for Lyme disease, for pets.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/06/27/lyme-disease-vaccine
not for humans. Apparently the liability for a vaccine for humans is too much because of the anti-vaccine activists.
I agree with you. Jessica Lynn is a bad person, and so are all the other anti-vaccine activists.
Jessica Lynn failed to mention the other great thing about nosode: it clearly prevents random lion attacks on horses too.
Not to mention, it's 99.99% effective against both alien abductions of horses and zombies seeking horse brains for a quick bite.
... meh.
What, Lyme Vaccine for pets but not people???
here in tick ridden south Germany, we'd love to get our hands on a good Lyme vaccine. we already vaccinate excessively agains western serotype TBE.
The prospect of getting Lyme-borreliosis is a major source of horror for tick victims now :)
Hah, the Lyme vaccine is already around 20 years old but the doctors tell you there is no vaccine.
They do serological tests when you have a suspected tick bite and try to treat it with antibiotics if the tests are positive, but the tests are bad (alot of false positive/negative).
Holistic horse? m(
BTW, there is a Lyme paper making the rounds in ME/CFS circles:
Probable late lyme disease: a variant manifestation of untreated Borrelia burgdorferi infection
John N Aucott, Ari Seifter and Alison W Rebman
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/12/173/abstract
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2334-12-173.pdf
The researchers seem legit (but so did Ruscetti), the data base is slim though.
...so if these guys ever fail to dilute their products into nonexistence, they'll basically give animals all the diseases they're trying to protect them from? Lovely.
Sadly, the Jessica Lynn quote is not an exception, it's everyday, run-of-the-mill bullshit in horse circles.
Horse owners, at least in Germany, are very woo-friendly slice of the population... the "nature animals goddess good, chemicals baaad" variety. Domestic horses, on the other hand, are have some ailment around 99% of the time. In particular tick-borne diseases and herpes, with quite unspecific and often neurological symptoms, are quite frequent.
This perfect combination of loving but clueless owners and sickly horses feeds armies of woo-peddlers. Homeopathy is a mainstream treatment for pretty much everything including cancer; acupuncture, radionics (including applications when all the therapist ever comes in contact with is a photo of the horse) and magnets are very popular too. And the idea that some of the less well understood diseases are adverse effects of vaccination or deworming is very popular in these circles.
@Anton Mates, et al - So where do you think vaccines come from, and what are they made of? The 'bugs' they're supposed to teach your body to repel! Vaccines are meant to build immunity to the bad-bugs, by sticking small doses of either live or killed samples of the bad-bugs into the body (orally or by injection). However, many vaccines are grown in chicken eggs and other bases that are very common sources of allergic reactions in a lot of people. So, like chemotherapy treatments for cancer, that produce side-effects that are worse than the disease itself, people who are allergic to the egg get sicker from the vaccine than they would have if they'd caught the disease! I refuse to ever have another flu shot - I've never been so sick in all my life as when I've had flu shots, especially the swine flu shot in 1976!
Since both vaccines and homeopathy involve getting some portion of the bad-bug into the body, what makes you people (ALL of you who are so dead-set against using nature's own way) so judgmental about something that has worked for a lot longer than vaccines have been around? I personally use some homeopathics (I'm pretty healthy, so I don't need to use a lot of it) and have been VERY pleased with the results. I am not some "nature animals goddess" type, either. I just believe in using the healing herbs and methods of treatment that God put on this earth, and not taking the word of Big Pharma, which is AN INDUSTRY - in the business of making OBSCENE amounts of money - and they don't make money if everybody and their horse stays healthy! DUH!!!!
And homeopathy is somehow not "an industry?" Seriously?
http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Homeopaths-in-the-US-Indus…
Sorry I don't have links to info, but it is my understanding that an annual titer test for diseases canines are regularly vaccinated against have become nearly as affordable as vaccinations and will show the state of the dog's immune system in regard to those particular diseases.
Also feel moved to say something about the people that have lost all their livelihood and homes that were responsible animal owners previous to such monumental changes came about ... humans have to come before the animals, and as the rescue and sanctuary options become overwhelmed, people enter into neglect situations they never envisioned. Even euthanasia and disposal costs are beyond means, especially with equines involved ... I can't think of a worse way to wake up in the morning.
After working 20 years as a licensed veterinary technician [nurse] I think anti-vaxers should be forced to watch a video of an animal dying of whatever disease they recommend not getting a vaccine for and watching the owner of said animal's reaction to their animal dying of a preventable disease. The same for those who recommend against childhood vaccines. Most of those who recommend against vaccines are making money on "supplements" etc. that supposedly treat or prevent those diseases. They are taking advantage of people who have been burned or are suspicious of big institutions or companies or feel inferior to those who know science better than them. [Personally,I do not feel inferior to airplane engineers just because I do not know the ins and outs of aerospace engineering. So why must people claim that they know more than any science expert?] I have seen and smelled the results of such vaccines preventable diseases; those who recommend such stupid ideas should at least experience that. Smell leaves quite an impression on memories. Some humans are quite socially sick.
Becky. Do some research. There is nothing, I repeat nothing whatsoever in homeopathic "rememdies" or nosodes. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Just water/alcohol/sugar. Unless the laws of physics are not just wrong, but spectacularly wrong (thanks Orac), you're giving your horse expensive water. And the natural supplement industry is huge and more profitable than the pharmaceutical industry, because they have homeopathic oversight. I pity your animals.