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West Nile Virus confirmed in Kentucky horse
US vets have confirmed the presence of West Nile Virus in a horse from Kentucky.

Discovery is the US state’s second case of 2019

US vets have confirmed the presence of West Nile Virus (WNV) in a horse from Kentucky.

According to The Horse.com, the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed the presence of the disease in a five-month-old rocky mountain horse from Powell County.

On Wednesday (9 October), the horse presented with clinical signs compatible with the disease. Vets collected and tested a sample from the horse the following day.

The horse, which had not been vaccinated against WNV, failed to respond to treatment and its condition gradually deteriorated until it died.

This is the second horse to be confirmed with WNV in Kentucky this year. In September, officials at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture confirmed the disease in a seven-year-old Paint gelding.

Other US states that are reported to have confirmed equine WNV cases include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Washington.

WNV is an incurable condition, but with supportive care, some horses do recover. The disease is spread by infected mosquitos, with clinical signs including mild anorexia, drowsiness and asymmetrical ataxia.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners recommends all horses are vaccinated against WNV at least once a year.

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.