{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,6]],"date-time":"2026-11-06T22:03:58Z","timestamp":1794002638680,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,1]],"date-time":"2026-03-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772323200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>West Nile virus (WNV) circulates endemically in Romania, yet prevention of WNV infection in horses largely depends on owner-driven decisions that require accurate risk perception and veterinary guidance. A cross-sectional online survey was carried out between May and November 2025 to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices (KAP) regarding WNV among 227 horse owners from various Romanian regions. In total, 67.4% of respondents had previously heard of WNV. The main transmission route was correctly identified as mosquito bites by 49.8% of participants, while 32.2% answered \u201cdon\u2019t know\u201d or presented misconceptions: horse-to-horse contact (9.3%), tick bites (10.6%) and blood transfusion (0.4%). Recognition of clinical signs was limited, with fever (31.3% of respondents) and gait abnormalities or ataxia (24.7% of respondents) being most frequently mentioned, followed by inappetence (19.4% of respondents), seizures (18.1% of respondents), coughing (8.8% of respondents), and abortions (10.6% of respondents); 47.6% of respondents were unable to identify any specific signs. Awareness of the existence of an equine WNV vaccine was reported by 23.8% of respondents, while only 4.0% indicated that their horses had been vaccinated. The most common preventive measures included the use of insecticides in stables (61.2%) and topical repellents on horses (55.5%), whereas environmental control actions such as removing standing water (14.1%) or avoiding swampy areas (11.9%) were less frequent; 19.4% reported taking no preventive measures. Veterinary communication was limited, with only 17.2% of respondents having received information about WNV from a veterinarian, and 21.6% perceiving a real risk of infection in Romania. Overall, the data show a marked disconnect between awareness and actionable prevention (particularly vaccination and environmental mosquito control), indicating that targeted owner education must be paired with structured veterinary communication to translate knowledge into preventive uptake in endemic settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13030239","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T12:39:56Z","timestamp":1772455196000},"page":"239","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Gaps Between Awareness and Prevention of West Nile Virus Among Horse Owners in an Endemic Country: A Cross-Sectional Study from Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-9380-1985","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paula","family":"Nistor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Livia","family":"St\u00e2nga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreia","family":"Chiril\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vlad","family":"Iorgoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vlad","family":"Cocioba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Husbandry, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"R\u0103zvan Grigore","family":"Cojocaru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2531-6469","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandru","family":"Gligor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandru","family":"Cire\u0219an","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9077-7939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bogdan","family":"Florea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Horia","family":"Iorgoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, West University of Timi\u0219oara, 300223 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8913-4942","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ionica","family":"Iancu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-0153-5533","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cosmin Hora\u021biu","family":"Mari\u0219","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forestry, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Technologies, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u0219oara, 300645 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5859-5057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janos","family":"Degi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7118-6488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viorel","family":"Herman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, 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