REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio – State lab results have confirmed a total of 352 cases of West Nile virus infection in Ohio horses covering 68 counties.
All cases have been observed since Aug. 8, when the first equine case in the state was confirmed in Holmes County, according to Fred L. Dailey, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Positive tests. The counties affected and the corresponding number of positive results follows:
Adams, (4); Ashland, (3); Ashtabula, (4); Athens, (5); Auglaize, (1);
Brown, (5); Butler, (5); Champaign, (3); Clark, (3); Clermont, (3); Clinton, (5); Columbiana, (1); Coshocton, (1); Crawford, (1); Cuyahoga, (7);
Darke, (5); Defiance, (1); Delaware, (5); Erie, (3); Fairfield, (4); Fayette, (1); Franklin, (6); Fulton, (1);
Gallia, (2); Geauga, (11); Greene, (4); Hamilton, (12); Hancock, (4); Hardin, (1); Henry, (1); Highland, (1); Holmes, (77); Huron, (4);
Jackson, (1); Knox, (1); Licking, (3); Lorain, (5); Lucas, (2); Madison, (6); Mahoning, (1); Marion, (2); Medina, (4); Meigs, (1); Mercer, (9); Miami, (1, Montgomery, (4); Morrow, (2);
Ottawa, (1); Paulding, (1); Pickaway, (1); Portage, (2); Preble, (3); Putnam, (1); Richland, (2); Ross, (1); Sandusky, (2); Scioto, (3); Seneca, (2); Stark, (7); Summit, (3);
Trumbull, (8); Tuscarawas, (15); Union, (1); Van Wert, (1); Vinton, (1); Warren, (6); Wayne, (52); and Williams, (1).
There are also two confirmed cases in which the county is unknown at this time.
Vaccination. Blood samples from the horses were submitted by local veterinarians to the state agriculture department’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for testing. All have been clinical cases in which the owner observed signs of illness in the animal, prompting the blood test.
Seven of the horses had received two doses of the vaccine against the disease, and the rest received no vaccine at all or were given only the first of two required initial doses.
