A. Horses may become infected by the bite of infectious mosquitoes. Q. My horse is vaccinated against eastern equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis. A. No. EEE, WEE, and VEE belong to another family of viruses. There is no approved vaccine currently available for West Nile virus. According to State Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, less than 1 percent of humans infected with West Nile Virus will become seriously ill with symptoms that require hospitalization.
Severe infection is marked by the rapid onset of a high fever, headache and body aches.
Symptoms generally occur 5 to 15 days after exposure. If you have these symptoms, see your doctor immediately. Most people infected with West Nile will have no symptoms. Those most vulnerable are young children, people over the age of 50, or people with weakened immune systems. Oswego County residents are asked to continue to report dead birds to the health department.