CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — An Iowa lab confirmed West Nile virus was responsible for the recent death of an alpaca in eastern New Mexico.
Windrush Alpacas owner Rosemary Metcalf told The Eastern New Mexico News reports that the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, recently confirmed that an alpaca named Echo died of West Nile.
Echo died July 17 in Curry County after Metcalf says the animal suffered from strange neurological symptoms.
Local veterinarian David Orton says the positive West Nile test result was reported to the New Mexico state Livestock Board.
West Nile can infect both animals and humans. It is a "vector borne" disease and has to be transmitted through the bite of an infected insect.
Mosquitoes become infected with the virus after biting an infected bird.
Information from: The Eastern New Mexico News, http://www.easternnewmexiconews.com