8-30 NWR West Nile Virus

Last week a Deschutes County horse tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV), marking the first detection of the disease in Oregon horses for the 2016 season. The affected horse is a 14-year old mare with no history of vaccination for WNV. The horse is under veterinary care and is responding to treatment. Last year, six horses in Oregon were confirmed to be infected with WNV.

Colorado State Veterinarian Dr. Keith Roehr says it is important to have your horses vaccinated against West Nile Virus and urges horse owners to contact their veterinarian if their horse shows any of these signs. Roehr: "Be anywhere from minor behavioral changes to ataxia to kind of a wobbly gait to difficulty in walking or standing or even paralysis where they can't stand at all. All of these clinical signs would be important to note."

Elsewhere, and on an issue that I find personally troubling, KIRO news radio's Dori Monson asked Republican candidate Donald Trump what he thought about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's recent refusal to stand during the national anthem. His response: I have followed it and I think it's personally not a good thing, I think it's a terrible thing. And maybe he should find a country that works better for him, let him try. It won't happen.