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    Re: [RC] WNV in Colo - Rant Warning - Truman Prevatt


    For what it is worth there was an epidemiologist on NPR the other morning talking about WNV. He made some very important points. First WN is very mile compaired to the other two forms of encephalitis that infact people in the US, St. Louis and Eastern Equine. St Louis doesn't infect horses. Both St. Louis and EEE are much more severe. However, at the present time there are as many cases of St Louis reported as of now as there is West Nile, but no one knows that.

    Secondly many people (and horses ) have had or have now WN but show no symptoms.

    Third is that it is new to this country and the immune systems have not accominated to it as yet. This is true of both the host and the carriers (birds). Over time this will happen and it will be less of a problem.

    He went on to say not to panic over this and this is not the first new virus that has come into this country and it won't be the last.

    Truman

    Maryanne Stroud Gabbani wrote:

    Those last few paragraphs are SOOOO worth reading carefully.

    All the pet lists have their knickers in a knot over WNV to the extent that
    I almost automatically delete when I see it in a subject line. Please
    people, stop and think sometimes how things look to the rest of the world.
    Here is the US with vets dashing about (making big bucks for Fort Dodge with
    an unproven vaccine, BTW...not to mention the house call to administer)
    vaccinating every horse in sight and people going ballistic over whether or
    not one dog has been infected, and I'm living in a country where not only is
    the disease EVERYWHERE but you can't even get tested for it. I love my
    horses as much as the next person and my 14 dogs too. As my family will
    testify, there's more money spent on food for animals in my household than
    there is on food for people.

    I don't vaccinate my horses for WNV. I don't see why I should pay to be a
    guinea pig for Fort Dodge (a perfectly decent pharmaceutical company whose
    canine vaccines I do use regulary).  I see more horses dropping dead here
    from improper and over-feeding (among the wealthy) than from WNV. The media
    need to do a SERIOUS reality check. For what it's probably cost to test all
    those crows, we could have built a couple of good clinics and stocked and
    staffed them for a year. We live in a biosphere with all sorts of life
    forms, including WNV. Just because it's become a media pet, doesn't make it
    the monster from the black lagoon or something. Chill.

    Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
    Cairo, Egypt
    maryanne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    www.ratbusters.net





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    [RC] WNV in Colo - Rant Warning, Maryanne Stroud Gabbani