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Topic: West Nile vaccination didn't work on imported gelding (Read 2318 times)
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cyclobee
Novice
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Posts: 7
Arab-Trakehner fan
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Two years ago a friend of mine lost her imported Trak gelding to West Nile. He had been vaccinated TWICE before coming over, and still contracted the disease. She did not have an autopsy done on him to see if there were any underlying medical problems that could have made him more suceptible to West Nile. He certainly wasn't an old or very young horse, and was in excellent health upon his initial arrival to the U.S. I wonder if anyone else has a trouble with this virus in imported horses?
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Lara, Gryphon Farm
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Gold Medallist
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Posts: 291
Trakehner Cowgirl
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Can this person confirm the horse was vaccinated? I understood we couldn't send the vaccine to Europe then (or now?)
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cyclobee
Novice
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Posts: 7
Arab-Trakehner fan
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I can ask her whether or not she can confirm, but she vaccinated him twice a year from the time he arrived. If the virus was already in his system, the latter vaccinations may not have helped.
The autopsy would have given a clue at the very least.
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acottongim
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Old Hand
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Posts: 1,435
I love Trakehners!
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I may be stepping into a can of worms here.... so I'll aplogize if I offend anyone right from the start.
I went to a seminar by the head vet for the state of FL in regards to EEE and WNV (forget what his exact title is, sorry, it was a year ago and my memory is not great!). He said that for EEE and WNV he recommends that the shots are given 3 times a year and some places are doing 4 times a year with no ill effects. This is obviously for mosquito prone areas of the country (like FL). Here were some other stats that he gave us.... You need to do the first shot, then within 6 weeks after that first one you need to do the second shot, you are still not 100% covered for I think it was a month. Then you do the shots every 4 months because the efficacy is wearing off after 4 - 5 months and is pretty much gone by 6 months. Also the shot can not be warmed at all - you need to make sure that it is kept cold from the fridge to the horse (don't postpone giving it once it is taken from the fridge in otherwords).
Now, personal experience. I give my shots religiously every 4 months and always have (for past 7 or 8 years). I was at a barn where the owner also was religious about giving her shots as often as I was. She had a boarder who did the protocol on her mare, and was doing her religiously every 6 months (with no lag time). Mare was there for 2 years. Mare died of WNV and no other horse on the property got sick. There were other horses in a 50 mile radius that summer that came down with WNV (3 of them), they were also vaccinated on a 6 month schedule, but I don't know the owners so can not verify how they gave shots etc....
It is a touchy subject and everyone has varrying views on what to give and how often, so I am NOT implying that my way is right and other ways are wrong - just for my peace of mind I do shots more often and haven't had probs, knock wood.
I would be interested to know how long between the two shots she waited, and how soon after the second shot the horse got sick??
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Joy
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Old Hand
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Posts: 1,270
I love Trakehners!
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There's a wholistic vet in Florida who "vaccinates" using a homeopathic WNV nosode. MUCH safer than the Fort Dodge product. There's plenty of evidence that the Fort Dodge vaccine not only doesn't always protect, but may be implicated in outbreaks.
My flame suit is on. Bash me if you will, but there are other, safer alternatives to vaccines, and some very well-known, respected vets use them.
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Jennifer
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Posts: 323
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I don't think I've heard of reports that the vaccine caused the WNV. A couple of years ago there were rumors of other issues that might be related to the vaccine that may or may not be more than coincidental. I know of a fairly large boarding facility where most horses were on the same vaccine schedule (at that time only one shot per year was given) except for three horses owned by 2 people. They didn't get the WNV vaccine and one of them got it. No other horse got it. The facility went to 2 shots per year after this one horse got it as an additional precaution.
My vet told me that the vaccine is not 100% effective, by the way.
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Sovereign Farm
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Gold Medallist
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Posts: 481
KALUA by Heling
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I'm going through an interesting and heartbreaking situation right now with West Nile Virus. There are 30 horses on my property, one is owned by someone else and the other 29 are owned by myself or Aerron (I refer to them all as mine anyway  ) All of mine are vaccinated for WNV and the one that doesn't belong to me isn't. Out of the 29 vaccinated on my property 18 fall under the category of "aged" (over 18) or "young" yearling/weanlings. The mare that isn't vaccinated was diagnosed with WNV and for anyone who hasn't dealt with it before, it is terrible and heartbreaking. For the first 5 days she was doing okay, though she could only get up from her left side, her right being too weak and uncooridinated. So I have to find help and roll her to her good side several times a day so that she can get up to stand. She does that fairly well until she loses her balance and falls down, and she doesn't fall very easily, either. The terrible thing is that she is still eating and drinking (I bring it to her throughout the day) and might not make it. As of today she cannot get up on either side and so the outlook is not that great for her survival. It is sad that she may lose her life to something that is SO easily vaccinated against. I know vaccinations are not 100% but they sure do increase a horse's odds for not getting diseases and getting over them quickly if they do.
Heather
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