A horse in El Dorado County has West Nile virus. The horse, from the Greenwood area on the West Slope, is expected to recover.

Horses can get WNV when they are bitten by a mosquito that has the virus. Horses cannot give the virus to people or other animals.

Vaccination for WNV is recommended as a core standard of care for all horses in North America. Vaccination generally protects the horse for one year. There is no WNV vaccine for humans or other domestic animals; however, llamas and alpacas may benefit from the horse vaccine.

There are no known human cases this year of West Nile in El Dorado County; four birds have tested positive.