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West Nile virus found in B.C. horse

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Whistler Real Estate Co Ltd, #137- 4370 Lorimer Road, Whistler, BC V0N 1B4

British Columbia has recorded its first ever case of West Nile Virus in an animal, a horse in the Dawson Creek area.

However, health officials believe the horse contracted the virus from a mosquito while it was travelling in Colorado.

Northern Interior Medical Health Officer Dr. Lorna Medd says the sick animal poses no threat to humans.

"The virus is not transmitted horse to horse or horse to human," she said. "It's infected by the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus."

West Nile can cause serious neurological problems for horses, but Medd says this animal is recovering.

All 20 people from B.C. who have been infected with West Nile got it while out of the province.