Horse owners will have to wait a few more weeks to find out if the number of West Nile virus cases has increased this year with the wet weather, said Alberta’s chief provincial veterinarian.
As of July 21, there have been no reported cases of West Nile in horses or humans in Canada. There have been 17 positive cases of West Nile virus found in birds and only 12 in mosquitoes in Canada.
Gerald Ollis said the first signs of West Nile don’t usually begin to show until August after the number of culex tarsalis, the kind of mosquitoes linked to West Nile virus, increases.
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There is no clear picture of how widespread West Nile might become this year, he said.
In 2003, there were 445 positive cases of West Nile in horses in Canada compared to 13 cases last year.
Ollis said there is not enough statistical information to determine if dry weather was the reason for the drop in cases, or if the wild birds or horses have developed immunity to West Nile.
“It will be really interesting to see what happens,” said Ollis.
