Time To Take West Nile Virus Seriously

To the Editor,

On September 21, 2000, a good friend of mine lost her horse to the West Nile Virus. This was indeed a very sad day for my friend. For this was not just another horse taken by this illness. This was her pet and companion that she loved dearly. This horse was named Flea. She was a sweet and gentle animal that had given her owner several years of fun, loyalty, companionship, and love.

It is very traumatic to lose a horse. It is also very scary to think that a virus is powerful enough to do this to a horse. It is just as scary to think that it could happen to humans as well. What worries me even more is the fact that my friend, my husband, and myself had traveled everywhere that Flea did. Could it have been us that had been bitten by the fated mosquito? You bet it could!

It is distressing that weeks passed as we waited for the results of Flea’s blood tests and the Public Health Department in Newtown did little to educate the public of this concern and failed to give the residents of the town the opportunity to decide whether spraying was warranted. Newtown residents should be concerned and should be included in decisions that affect our health and the fate of our animals. To date there are nine confirmed cases of the West Nile Virus in crows in our town and one horse. Please, keep in mind that these are the reported cases. Many of us may have had a mild case of this virus and not even known it.

The WNV is not just found in birds and horses. Seven people died in New York City, in 1999. That is an epidemic. According to the Center for Disease Control, the virus has been found in cats, chipmunks, raccoons, bats, squirrels, although rare in a dog. The WNV has proved that it can live in mosquitoes over the winter months and come back in the spring. West Nile Virus outbreaks have occurred in Egypt, India, France, Israel, Romania, and Africa. According to the CDC’s Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report, between July 20 and September 15, 2000, 12 people had been hospitalized in the Northeast with serious nervous system infections caused by the WNV: eight had encephalitis, and four had meningitis. Eleven horses died on Long Island last year from WNV. The symptoms to watch for are fever, malaise, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, nausea, vomiting, conjunctivitis, photophobia, and a rash may or may not be present. There is no treatment for the WNV at present.

Although there are things you can do to protect yourself from being bitten it is virtually impossible to protect our horses; they need to be outdoors as much as possible. Fly sprays may help but it is difficult to keep it on the horses at all times. For large farms this could prove to be labor intensive and very costly.

I understand that it is probably not worth ground spraying this year at this late date in the season. I do hope that the town will decide to spray in the spring. Trust me, this virus will be back. We can not afford to have the laid back attitude that the Public Health Department demonstrated this year. While the use of larvicides is helpful it is not nearly as effective as we need it to be.

I understand that many people will be opposed to wide spread ground spraying. I do not usually advocate such measures either; however, we need to weigh out the risks and the benefits and come to the right conclusion. I urge you to consider all the data.

Please log on to the CDC’s Web site, http:ww.cdc.gov/, and to the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Web site, http://ww.state.ct.us/dph/. You can get all the latest data on the virus and the chemical “Scourge” that is used for ground spraying and decide for yourself. You will be surprised at the effort the state is putting into its surveillance of this disease. Then ask yourself why? Are they afraid of a widespread outbreak? Then why haven’t they taken a firmer stand on spraying? What is the real threat to us and our animals?

Let’s not let this one get away from us like we did with Lyme Disease. The state has done little to protect us from that one and it is at epidemic rates. Countless numbers of Connecticut citizens suffer from chronic pain and fatigue from this illness. It has ruined many lives.

Until a vaccine and/or a cure are available we need to protect ourselves from this virus. If that means a one-time spraying with Scourge than let’s do it. To my knowledge no one has died from the use of Scourge. People and animals have fallen victim to the West Nile Virus.

Sincerely,

Debbie Shevlin RNC

Infection Control Practitioner

11 Arlyn Ridge Road                     October 27, 2000