Can West Nile cause a stallion to be sterile?

[MyBarakah]

Hi,

I was woundering if there's actually any "real facts" to go with the what I heard that West Nile can cause a stallion to be sterile? Does anyone know?

 

[starleemay]

I have 2 stallions & have given them West Nile since they first came out. Have not had any breeding problems. Though I don't give a mare thats close to foaling a shot until after she foals.

 

[justaboutgeese]

I don`t know about west nile but gelding can cause sterility or so I have heard.

 

[Minimor]

I don`t know about west nile but gelding can cause sterility or so I have heard.

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No way! Is that really true??!

Seriously...for the original question here--I've heard that one particular stallion went sterile after being given the WN vaccine. However, this was an older stallion, & I'm not sure how they determined that the vaccine was to blame; there have been old stallions that have gone sterile without ever being given the WN vaccine. Surely there have been cases of sterility blamed on WN vaccine, but as to whether there are any "real facts" about this, probably not. You might find those who are convinced it's true, but scientific proof? No.

Now, if your question actually meant does the disease itself (rather than the vaccine) cause sterility--that's not an after effect I've heard of. There were many cases of WNV in horses here in 2002, but of course only a very small percentage of those cases were in stallions. My personal experience with WNV has been only with a mare & gelding. We do vaccinate our stallions every spring, and sterility hasn't been an issue with these boys!!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Any really high temperature for a prolonged time can cause temporary and even permanent sterility.

 

[Jill]

Rabbit is right, but I'm not sure what you are meaning to ask.

Do you mean can the WNV Vaccine cause sterility, or do you mean can the illness cause sterility?

 

[royalview]

I went to an Equine breeding seminar last winter and they mentioned that giving your stallion his spring vaccines at least60 days before breeding season because any reaction to the vaccines will effect the sperm count.

 

[Kendra]

Vaccines tend to be blamed for everything under the sun, and most often they're just a convenient scapegoat.

The disease itself however, as with any high fever, will render a stallion at least temporarily infertile.

 

[Tabitha]

While it's true that a high fever can cause temporary or possibly even permanent sterility, keep in mind that in many cases of West Nile, the horse does not have a fever at all. In most cases if fever is present it is only briefly, at the very beginning of illness, and the horses I've heard of that did have a fever did not have a high temperature.

 

[MyBarakah]

Thanks for the information guys! I appriciate it!