State health officials are renewing their warning for Iowans to take precautions against mosquito bites as two horses in the state are now suspected ill with West Nile virus. State veterinarian Dr. John Schiltz says the disease is usually found in four creatures — first mosquitoes, then birds, then horses — and finally humans. The two horses suspected to be infected with West Nile are in different regions — one is near Rock Valley in northwest Iowa’s Sioux County while the other horse is in central Iowa’sJasper County. State health officials added eight more counties to the list Wednesday where dead birds have been found that were infected with West Nile, taking the total to 37 counties. The latest are: Calhoun, Cherokee, Jefferson, Mahaska, Marshall, Washington, Webster and Woodbury. Symptoms in horses include weaving, falling, yawning and seizures. In people, West Nile can be indicated with a high fever, a rash and muscle aches. NO human cases are reported in Iowa, but two cases are reported in neighboring Illinois. West Nile is blamed in two deaths in Mississippi, five deaths in Louisiana, and it’s infected nearly 150 people in six states and the District ofColumbia.
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