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With the first infected horse not diagnosed until October, Dr. Baker was taken aback by the rapid spread of the disease into Texas. "I was personally a little skeptical at first," he said about the initial horse they suspected might have the West Nile Virus. "When we sent the blood off and it came back positive, I was surprised. I mean I was even surprised we had it here because we don't see many mosquitoes around here." Last year, 14,717 horses in 40 states were reported to have had the West Nile Virus. Texas was the hardest hit. According to USDA statistics compiled from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2002, the state had 1,597 horses come down with the West Nile Virus. Not a single case was reported in the Lone Star state just one year before. Although Dr. Baker did not have a background in treating horses infected with West Nile Virus, he had years of experience with horses suffering from a myriad of other neurological diseases and disorders that exhibited many of the same symptoms. At the time the first symptomatic horse was unloaded at his clinic, the relatively new West Nile Virus did not top Dr. Baker's list of possible diagnoses. Dr. Conklin immediately sent blood off to be tested and didn't hesitate to begin treatment. Encephalomyelitis, EPM, ear infections, moldy corn poisoning, parasites or abscesses in the brain, Rhino, yellow star thistle poisoning, and such, the veterinarian considered all the possibilities. "For a lot of those things you don't wait for the test to come back to confirm what you treat," Dr. Baker said. "There are 15 neurological diseases that are acute and they all exhibit themselves pretty much the same." The moment the first symptomatic horse arrived, it was given massive doses of Dexamethasone for up to three days straight, standard administering of Banamine twice a day, around 400ccs of DMSO once or twice a day plus a constant drip of IV fluids. In unison, the medications worked to relieve the horse's pain, reduce swelling and maintain hydration. They did not, however, pack the power punch that knocked the virus off course. That was up to the blood plasma, one liter of which was infused into the jugular vein. For two more days, one liter of plasma was infused into the horse's bloodstream. Was the plasma the reason Alpha Equine had a 100 percent cure record for horses treated for the West Nile Virus? "Oh yes, without a doubt," Dr. Baker answered. "With that high of a success rate, I think you have to give plasma the credit."
Continued
Reprinted with permission from Quarter Horse News
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