Mary & Dogs Posted August 3, 2002 Report Share Posted August 3, 2002 Does anyone know if dogs are affected by West Nile Virus? This disease is just beginning to come into Missouri. I know that it affects humans, horses and birds - what else? Are there shots for it? Louisiana is really having a bad time of it right now. ------------------ Mary Hartman Kansas City, MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajarrel Posted August 3, 2002 Report Share Posted August 3, 2002 Pets can get it but I don't think it's as big a problem as in horses. I've got a couple of links in my website (Health/immunity). Here's one of the best: http://agnews.colostate.edu/index.asp?page...m_id=-734359611 ------------------ Black Dog Farm http://www.blackdogfarm.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary & Dogs Posted August 3, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2002 Thank you. What a great article! Does Skin So Soft keep misquitos away from animals? Can you use insect repellant on animals> I just don't know anything about all of this. ------------------ Mary Hartman Kansas City, MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wolf Posted August 3, 2002 Report Share Posted August 3, 2002 Mary, SSS does keep bugs off dogs. I think it is generally diluted for the dogs and misted onto the coat. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted August 3, 2002 Report Share Posted August 3, 2002 I heard on TV tonight that twenty people in the US have died from the virus. More than that many die daily from other individual causes. Polluting our environment with dramatic spraying of pesticides will probably do more harm to humans and animals. The report also said only one percent of people who are infected ever show symptoms. It seems to be a whole lot less dangerous than the flu but is receiving overkill reports. My opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cholla1 Posted August 4, 2002 Report Share Posted August 4, 2002 Trailrider, you make a good general point. Of course, if you lived in Luisiana and had all the areas where people can live because they had sprayed and drained some swamps that caused so much malaria and now the last few years have been let go back and so malaria is coming back, a scary situation in itself before any encephalitis are considered, you may have a different opinion of what others should do where they live. We have been hearing for a generation now, a good thirty years, how we are doing so may things wrong in places that don't affect us directly and shake our collective heads and declaim their selfishness, but if we were in their shoes we would be the first to decide to do what we need to protect ourselves. You should see if your library has the January issue of The Atlantic Monthly and read the article on this continent before europeans settled it, according to the newer antrophological findings. About how the native people were much, much more numerous than we have been thinking. About how they "grass farmed" much of this continent, keeping the Great Plains in their grassy state (rather than, as they should have been, following the natural progression of plant species, forested) that we thought was in it's "natural" state when we came her in 1492. How the Amazon basin was man made by the then inhabitants and how and why it is being destroyed today by well meaning "protectors". All this is having a hard time being accepted by the general press as it is not PC with what they have learned, believed and made their lives important. Yes, we always overreact, it is hard to find a balance and even more so today because of the rapid way information get's around and, like the old telephone game, distorted in the retelling. Sometimes we act on innacurate or incomplete information. [This message has been edited by Cholla1 (edited 08-04-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toney Posted August 4, 2002 Report Share Posted August 4, 2002 I live in Louisiana, in the middle of the worst affected West Nile area...they've had to divert people from our area hospitals to ones farther away because of the number of suspected human cases (this started about three weeks ago and as far as I know, is still being done)and the number of horses dying or having to have been put down due to CNS problems as a result of WN is very significant here...and just for your information, our parish doesn't spray for mosquitos- too costly. A bond issue passed to begin spraying before West Nile hit, when the local footballl team couldn't practice due to the amount of mosquitos attacking the players, but the money hasn't built up high enough to begin spraying and even when they do, it will only be certain months when the mosquitos come in off Lake Ponchartrain...only the big cities commonly spray- and that has been going on since I was a kid (and we won't get into the issue of my age, but I'm no kid.) Baton Rouge and New Orleans have always had some kind of mosquito control programs, but it's not common in other areas, which is why the CDC has come into town, due to the number of suspected WN cases in humans. So many poultry, horses and birds have it that the state epidemiology lab no longer even will bother to test for it, they say, if you suspect it's WN, treat it for WN, don't bother us...we're backlogged with human cases. So we all spray ourselves down with bug repellent and avoid the outdoors from around six pm until the next morning. That's what the CDC suggests as of right now. ------------------ Terry Toney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toney Posted August 4, 2002 Report Share Posted August 4, 2002 I live in Louisiana, in the middle of the worst affected West Nile area...they've had to divert people from our area hospitals to ones farther away because of the number of suspected human cases (this started about three weeks ago and as far as I know, is still being done)and the number of horses dying or having to have been put down due to CNS problems as a result of WN is very significant here...and just for your information, our parish doesn't spray for mosquitos- too costly. A bond issue passed to begin spraying before West Nile hit, when the local footballl team couldn't practice due to the amount of mosquitos attacking the players, but the money hasn't built up high enough to begin spraying and even when they do, it will only be certain months when the mosquitos come in off Lake Ponchartrain...only the big cities commonly spray- and that has been going on since I was a kid (and we won't get into the issue of my age, but I'm no kid.) Baton Rouge and New Orleans have always had some kind of mosquito control programs, but it's not common in other areas, which is why the CDC has come into town, due to the number of suspected WN cases in humans. So many poultry, horses and birds have it that the state epidemiology lab no longer even will bother to test for it, they say, if you suspect it's WN, treat it for WN, don't bother us...we're backlogged with human cases. So we all spray ourselves down with bug repellent and avoid the outdoors from around six pm until the next morning. That's what the CDC suggests as of right now. ------------------ Terry Toney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke'sMama Posted August 4, 2002 Report Share Posted August 4, 2002 from small town, lousiana also, thank you terry, good post. Duke's Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 5, 2002 Report Share Posted August 5, 2002 I lived in an area where the town sprayed nightly for mosquitoes. I couldn't help but wonder what cumulative effect inhalation of the spray on a regular basis would have on me and my pets (and anyone else around). (Not all of us live in hermetically sealed air conditioned houses, and some folks do need to venture outdoors during the hours when spraying might be taking place.) North Carolina is, I believe, actually now doing a study with farmers to try and determine if exposure to chemicals is responsible for a number of health issues, including cnacers, that seem to be disproportionately high in the state's farming population. Although I am not by any means against spraying for mosquitoes, I think people should realize that they may be trading a short-term evil (West Nile virus or other mosquito-borne diseases) for a long-term one (the perhaps unknown effects of long-term exposure to pesticides). I think the fact that at least NC is doing such a study with its farmers indicates that long-term exposures to chemicals is a medical concern. My understanding is that West Nile is not terribly dangerous to healthy humans, but that infants, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised are in danger. I haven't heard statistics on animal risk/susceptibility. I am not trying to downplay or otherwise belittle the concerns of folks who live in areas where there are outbreaks, but I think once again the media is creating a lot of angst where maybe there needn't be so much. And lest anyone think that I'm speaking of these things from a safe ivory tower somewhere, I live in northeasetern NC, where the swamps have been drained for farming, but where the drainage ditches surrounding and intersecting the farm fields are often full of stagnant water after any rain and therefore are prime mosquito breeding ground. (When I walk my dogs before bed, I am often beset by the things.) Not to mention the Great Dismal Swamp right next door and all the coastal swamps and marshes. I just happen to think that the media is overblowing things in this instance. By the way, I believe the governor of Louisiana has asked for federal aid (and will likely get it) to help with spraying for mosquitoes. In a sort of unrelated situation, an acquaintance of mine had a sheep die out in the pasture. This animal showed no overt signs of illness before death, and the death was likely heat related. But the sheep's owner got a visit from animal control because a neighbor in a housing development next to the farm saw the dead sheep was concerned about EEE (a population of mosquitoes in Chesapeake, VA, just to the north has been identified as harboring EEE, and consequently the health department has issued a reminder to horse owners to be sure their horses are vaccinated). Sounds to me like some folks are already getting a bit hysterical over this stuff.... Sorry if I have offended anyone with this post, but these are my thoughts and feelings on the subject at hand. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted August 5, 2002 Report Share Posted August 5, 2002 Julie has pointed out some problems... One of the differences between how "ancient" mankind altered his environment, and the way we have the means to alter ours - is simply in the longevity and toxicity. Sure, native americans ran buffalo off of cliffs in order to slaughter a bunch easily - but it took the rolling block remington to nearly eliminate them from the face of the earth. DDT nearly eliminated many species of birds - including the eagle...until "we" became aware of what we were doing. Certainly lead and mercury were used by our forebears - but only in quantities that were local or individual problems. Phytoestrogens (from plastics, etc.) are literally causing hermaphrodite salmon in the Northwest - visually male salmon with female organs (incapable of reproducing in any way)...it's also being studied as far as the continuing early age of puberty in American girls - down to as young as 7-8 years old vs. 12-13 one generation earlier... I try not to think about a train load of nuclear waste traveling through my town...safe and secure - you betcha. Many of the "processes", chemicals, methods we embrace have no guarantee of safety...especially in the long-term view... UK shepherds used to dip thier sheep in DDT to eliminate parasites - and then throw the dog in - and literally take no precautions, because it was safe. Then when DDT was banned, began using organo-phospates... Now, literally THOUSANDS of UK shepherds, farmers, and clippers, have a general nervous system disorder similar to the Agent Orange destruction (remember, that was safe too?) of many of our Vietnam vets...many of those shepherds are undergoing massive blood treatments, are in wheelchairs, etc. from this "safe" parasite killer... Public health policies, environmental policies that literally change the ecosystem, and the decisions toward wholesale chemical use should not be made in a panic - and certainly should not be made by politicians... ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com [This message has been edited by PrairieFire (edited 08-05-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cholla1 Posted August 6, 2002 Report Share Posted August 6, 2002 Sorry to contradict you but "phyto" means derived from plants, not plastics. "Agent Orange" is a herbicide, a defoliant, not pesticide, called 2-4-5 T ester that we used, sparingly, every ten years for brush control along the fence lines and parts of the pastures (in a specific pattern to "sculpt" the land so it would not erosion and to be protection for the wildlife) that were getting infested with brush to the point that water run off was hampered and watersheds suffered. It is a very safe herbicide and used for many years in the electric industry to keep line clear of trees, especially used in Canada and never shown to have caused any illness. So safe that we didn't have to move cattle or horses and the "flagmen" did not have to stay away. In Vietnam it was used by inexperienced people that thought that if a little is better, more is best and used it in concentrations way too heavy and daily at times, causing, maybe, those problems, something that is still being debated. Thus a good, cheap and proven safe herbicide was taken of the market and we still today don't have anything even close to 1/10 as effective and the cost of todays's "new product, really a reformulation of the same thing, is about $20.- an acre compared with $5.-. There is a problem with that herbicide and it is drift. Because of being an ester and so volatil, in windy conditions it will go to areas not intended and so it can't be used near certain crops or any trees we don't want to kill. A political casualty, more than anything. We have to be careful of what we read, even when it is something we want to believe in. I wonder how many of those other stories are so. [This message has been edited by Cholla1 (edited 08-06-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted August 6, 2002 Report Share Posted August 6, 2002 Oh yes, cholla, you're also the person who thinks women brought the problems on themselves by "demanding" HRT therapy and that testicular cancer "should be a lesson to everyone"... Quite the chappie...must be Catholic, huh? By the way, I related two nervous system disorders to each other - NOT a pesticide to a herbicide - perhaps you should hone your reading skills before pronouncing your "homilies of punishment"... I suppose it was the dog soldiers fault in Nam for overdosing themselves? And the shepherds in the UK wanted to put themselves in wheelchairs... And phytoesthers are used in the processing of plastics and food products that are used in those plastic contianers - and enter the environment that way. It appears as if a little bit of knowledge - specifically derived from what YOU read - carries it's own baggage, eh? I suggest being careful of what you read - and making sure you read what is really written, dear. ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com [This message has been edited by PrairieFire (edited 08-06-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cholla1 Posted August 6, 2002 Report Share Posted August 6, 2002 Plastics are hydrocarbons and I wonder how any phytoestrogens found their way in them. How did any plastics, being practically inert in their enviroment, "leach" anything in the water, much less in enough quantities more than natural phytoestrogens do, to cause any poisoning. That whole scenario just doesn't make any sense chemically to me, as described by you. But then, I don't know everything either. I too stand by my previous post as written. P.S. Shame on you for that personal attack and -adjective depleted- crack at catholics (of which I am not one, for your information, and am assuming you are not either). [This message has been edited by Cholla1 (edited 08-06-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted August 7, 2002 Report Share Posted August 7, 2002 Hey cholla - Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I learned my latin from mass at "Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility" while attending classes at Saint Pedophilia...we were less conservative than the folks at "Our Lady of Perpetual Guilt". ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com [This message has been edited by PrairieFire (edited 08-07-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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