Equine Infectious Anemia

Equine Viral Arteritis

National Animal Health Reporting System Provides Data for Confirmed Diseases

Feedlot Monitoring Data Show VS What is Happening in Animal Health

Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza

West Nile Virus

Chronic Wasting Disease

Modernization of Ames

National Animal Identification System

Bovine Tuberculosis

BSE Surveillance

Foreign Animal Disease Investigations

Trichinea Certification Program

Pseudorabies

Assessing Brucellosis in the Tristate Area: Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho

Bluetongue Survey

Confiscation of Belgian Sheep in Vermont

Scrapie Eradication Program

Johnes Program

National Veterinary Services Laboratories Domestic Detection and Surveillance Testing

West Nile Virus

VS, along with the CDC, the U.S. Geological Survey, State wildlife agencies, and State and local health and vector control agencies, make up the West Nile Virus (WNV) Surveillance System. In FY 2002, the number of equine cases of WNV and the geographic spread of the disease increased dramatically. There were 8,063 cases of the virus in 40 states in FY 2002. Generally, one in 3 cases of WNV in equines results in death, which translated into approximately 2,700 deaths in FY 2002.

The WNV Surveillance System is intended to monitor the geographic spread of WNV over the contiguous United States; to further develop national public health strategies for WNV surveillance, prevention, and control; to develop a more complete regional picture of the geographic distribution and incidence of similar viruses; and to provide national and regional information to public health officials, elected government officials, and the public.

As part of the ongoing effort to diagnose FADs in the United States, specially trained FAD diagnosticians investigate suspect cases of neurological illness in equines. In FY 2002, 190 investigations were carried out on equines with neurological illness. Since late 1999, such equines have usually been tested for WNV infection at the NVSL.

NVSL performs primary WNV testing on equine submissions from private veterinary practitioners, veterinary teaching hospitals, and laboratories in States without WNV testing capability. It also does confirmatory testing in support of State veterinary diagnostic laboratories where screening tests for WNV are performed, and provides training on WNV testing protocols for state veterinary diagnostic personnel.

In FY 2002, NVSL conducted nearly 10,200 tests on serum (blood) samples or on cerebrospinal fluid samples, and nearly 900 WNV tests on tissue samples (most frequently equine brain tissues). These test counts do not include additional testing that may have been performed with some samples to examine for evidence of other diseases such as eastern equine encephalomyelitis or western equine encephalomyelitis.

Since the detection of WNV in the United States in 1999, VS has worked to facilitate development of an equine WNV vaccine. In August 2001, it granted a conditional license for a WNV vaccine to Fort Dodge Animal Health (a division of Wyeth). To date, more than six million doses of the killed virus product have been distributed to veterinary practitioners nationwide. Vaccination requires two doses in the initial year followed by an annual booster.