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WEST
NILE VIRUS: October 9, 2002 Llama & Alpaca Health West Nile Virus We now have what may be four cases of “West Nile
Virus” on our ranch here in Eastern Kansas. Last month our dog became ill and our cat died, both
exhibited similar symptoms… and the cause was unknown and not confirmed.
The dog recovered within a week or so. We lost a llama last August to
unknown cause but had the same paralysis as the dog and cat. As I write
this, we now have a confirmed case of West Nile in a horse on our ranch
and the prognosis is not good. I did not know just how serious West Nile
has become or more importantly, what to look for in animals that may be
stricken. Prior to the confirmed case in the horse, I had not connected
the previous health problems as having possibly one cause. Unfortunately
it is too late to verify if the llama had West Nile. My intentions are not to alarm but to alert you to
look for something out of the usual. I notice that the horse when walking
appeared to stumble just a bit, as if it had stepped in a hole. When the
two horses were on the far side of the field, I called to them. One horse,
Banjo, came running. The other horse, Smokey, started to run and then fell
to her knees. I now know these are classic symptoms. Our veterinarian says
that our county is full of West Nile and horses are dropping everywhere. The Center of Disease Control has the following listed a
symptoms in people, I have listed what was observed in our animals: Neck stiffness (dropped head) - Horse Stupor – Horse, Cat, Dog Disorientation – Cat, Dog Coma - Cat Tremors – Llama, Horse, Dog Convulsions - Dog Muscle weakness – Llama, Horse, Cat, Dog Paralysis – Llama, Cat, Dog, Horse Headache High fever I
hope this will help others. |