A horse in Clay County has tested positive for the West Nile virus, Minnesota's first confirmed case this year, state health officials said.
Dr. Paul Anderson, assistant director of the state Board of Animal Health, said the 1-year-old horse died April 27 after it was taken to a veterinarian in Elbow Lake.
A blood test showed the horse had West Nile, Anderson said. The owner of the horse lives near Hitterdal, a city about six miles northeast of Hawley, he said.
West Nile, first reported in the Red River Valley in 2002, is not typically found in animals this early in the year, said Doug Schultz, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health.
The virus, transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, can cause brain inflammation. August and September are the peak months for West Nile, after mosquitoes pick the virus up from birds.
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"We don't begin to expect human cases until later in the year," Schultz said.
The horse likely was bitten by an infected mosquito that survived the winter, he said.
Anderson said 993 horses contracted West Nile in 2002 in Minnesota, 82 in 2003 and 12 last year. He said the increased use of the West Nile horse vaccine likely accounts for the drop in cases.
