Veterinary Diagnostic Lab Confirms 10 West Nile Virus Cases

Aug 29, 2016

The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory known as WADDL [pronounced, “waddle”], has confirmed 10 cases of West Nile Fever in horses since August 9.

The laboratory, located within Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, tested only 38 horses since Jan. 1; a number far below their capacity for testing. All 10 cases confirmed positive recently were in unvaccinated horses in Spokane, Lincoln, and Pend Oreille counties in Washington and Boundary County in northern Idaho. All 10 also had neurological disease that occurs with West Nile encephalitis characterized by inflammation of the central nervous system.

The West Nile Fever cases reported here are unrelated to the Equine Herpes Virus-1 case confirmed by WADDL last week in a hospitalized horse at WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The EHV-1 horse has since been humanely euthanized.

The exact reason for the spike in West Nile cases is unknown, however these most recent cases are located further north than detections in previous years. Veterinarians in WADDL are urging horse owners to contact their veterinarians and seek their advice on vaccination and how to eliminate mosquitoes where they keep horses.

Source: wsu.edu

Video: Advancing Swine Disease Traceability: USDA's No-Cost RFID Tag Program for Market Channels

On-demand webinar, hosted by the Meat Institute, experts from the USDA, National Pork Board (NPB) and Merck Animal Health introduced the no-cost 840 RFID tag program—a five-year initiative supported through African swine fever (ASF) preparedness efforts. Beginning in Fall 2025, eligible sow producers, exhibition swine owners and State Animal Health Officials can order USDA-funded RFID tags through Merck A2025-10_nimal Health.

NPB staff also highlighted an additional initiative, funded by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services through NPB, that helps reduce the cost of transitioning to RFID tags across the swine industry and strengthens national traceability efforts.

Topics Covered:

•USDA’s RFID tag initiative background and current traceability practices

•How to access and order no-cost 840 RFID tags

•Equipment support for tag readers and panels

•Implementation timelines for market and cull sow channels How RFID improves ASF preparedness an