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West Nile found in Kandiyohi County
By Michelle Kubitz
Staff Writer
West Central Tribune
Text version of this story

WILLMAR - Tests confirm that one bird in Kandiyohi County has been infected with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, the Minnesota Health Department said Monday.

The bird is one of 17 birds and seven horses in Minnesota that have tested positive for the virus.

The birds were found in seven different counties: six in Hennepin, four in Stearns, three in Ramsey and one each in St. Louis, Swift, Mille Lacs and Kandiyohi. The horses were in Beltrami, Clay, Grant, Hennepin, Lac qui Parle, Roseau and Stearns counties. Four of the horses have died or been euthanized.

The spread of the West Nile virus is not surprising to one local veterinarian.

"Minnesota is the land of mosquitoes ... and we do have a lot of birds here," said Dr. Alex Iden, of Buckingham Equine of Raymond.

Iden's phone has been a "West Nile hotline for the past two weeks" with concerned horse owners calling in for information.

Since December, Buckingham Equine has gone through about 1,600 doses of the vaccine, said Iden.

And although some horses have been vaccinated, Iden stresses the importance of getting booster shots for horses.

"(West Nile) is a type of virus that will respond to a vaccine," she said.

Symptoms of the West Nile virus in horses could include a fever, weakness or lack of coordination. Other symptoms could include the horse acting like it has a spinal injury or exhibiting increased excitability.

If contracted, the West Nile virus is a little over 30 percent fatal to horses, she said.

"West Nile in a horse is not contagious to people around them," she said.

Mosquitoes spread West Nile from infected birds to humans, who can then develop deadly encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. Humans cannot pass the virus to each other. Symptoms are similar to the flu, including fatigue and fever.

Health officials reiterated Monday that the risk of any one person developing the illness is very small. Even if someone is bitten by an infected mosquito, only about 1 in 150 will become seriously ill.

Nationally, 34 states and the District of Columbia have detected the virus this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The state Health Department will continue testing dead birds for West Nile as part of its routine surveillance of the virus. No human cases have been reported in Minnesota.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Last updated: February 1, 2006