THE JAMAICA Racing Commis-sion (JRC), in collaboration with the Veterinary Services Division of the Agriculture Ministry, will host a West Nile Virus awareness seminar tomorrow at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club in St. Catherine, according to a release from Jamaica Information Service (JIS).
The two-and-a-half hour seminar, slated to begin at 10:00 a.m., seeks to educate members of the racing industry about the virus and measures to take in the event that the virus arrives in Jamaica.
Representatives from the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers Association, Caymanas Track Limited and the JRC, grooms, farm managers, owners and veterinarians are expected to participate.
Dr. Sophia Ramlal, veterinarian with the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC), said the seminar was timely because the winter season was approaching, and birds, which are carriers of the virus, were migrating from North America to the warmer climate in the Caribbean and South America.
She said that mosquitoes, and to a lesser extent ticks, were the vectors that transmitted the virus from the infected birds to humans and horses. She added that while the virus may cause illness, it could also be fatal in both horses and humans.
The seminar, Dr. Ramlal said, hopes to address the surveillance and prevention issues surrounding the virus, in order to "minimise what could be a disastrous situation for horses as well as humans if the virus should arrive." She emphasised that it was important to monitor the mosquito population around the stable areas.
"We have to educate the racing public about what to look for and what to do, and in turn, we are hoping that all the representatives will disseminate the information with a view of being prepared in their own backyard," she said.
Dr. Ramlal said so far the response to the seminar was overwhelming and she expected all invited persons to attend.
She attributed the enthusiastic response to the foreign media coverage given to the virus and the number of fatalities in North America.
"People are interested for their own health as well as the health of their horses and are looking forward to an enlightening seminar," she said.
Dr. Cedric Lazarus from the Veterinary Division, who will share presentation duties with Sherene Huntley, epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health, is pleased with the response to the seminar from the racing fraternity and calls it "very positive."
He said that the virus could cause encephalitis, otherwise known as inflammation of the brain and lining.
Symptoms of the virus in horses vary from listlessness, lack of appetite, depression, ataxia (loss of full control of body movements) and weakness in the hind limbs. The incubation period for the virus is about seven days, and there is no definitive treatment for the virus in horses.
Dr. Lazarus explained that veterinarians could "only provide supportive treatment," which include making the infected horse as comfortable as possible and "supporting the horse's systems that are breaking down, for instance, giving the horse medication to prevent the brain from swelling."
He said that most horses would recover from the virus, once adequate support treatment was provided by veterinarians. However, he noted that if the horse deteriorated to the point where it was unresponsive to the treatment, then it would be euthanised.
As at December 2001 in the US, more than 500 horses have developed clinical signs of the virus in 19 States, with 73 fatalities recorded.
