NY CONFIRMS FIRST EQUINE CASE OF EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS
Two-Year Old Oswego County Gelding Showed Symptoms; Died of Mosquito-Borne Virus
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today announced the State’s first confirmed equine case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, also known as EEE, this year. The affected horse was a two-year old gelding kept in Oswego County. EEE is a rare viral disease of horses and humans that is spread by infected mosquitoes. To date, there have been no reported nor confirmed human cases of EEE in 2010.
“New York’s abundant water sources and humid climate unfortunately make the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and the EEE virus,” Commissioner Hooker said. “Therefore, we highly encourage horse owners to protect their animals and consider vaccinating for EEE. The EEE vaccine has proven to drastically reduce the incidence of the virus in horses and can be easily administered by a private veterinarian.”
The infected horse was a two-year old gelding that was purchased at a New York auction earlier this year. The young horse had an unknown vaccination history at the time of purchase and was not vaccinated after purchase. Last week, the gelding was showing typical signs of EEE, including loss of appetite, circling and leaning against the stall, and after examination by a private veterinarian, was euthanized. Brain samples were sent to the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Laboratory and tested positive for EEE. To date, the other horses on the same premises are not showing any signs of EEE and have since been vaccinated.
Posts
7 comments:
Hate the though of another mosquito borne virus.
I hope that your area is not put into shutdown like what happened in QLD, Australia. It was terrible here, even people were affected and died as a result. It was from the flying foxes ( bats).
Be prepared - it is NOT nice.
Colin (HB)
Brisbane. Austrlaia
We have had 2 people die this summer from EEE. The county is spraying but we have had so much rain that water is standing everywhere. The citrus is starting to split open from too much water, they don't like wet feet.
ps. We are in central florida south of tampa.
LInda, this stuff is nasty. Been around here for years but this is the first I have heard of it in quite a while.
Colin, it worries me very much. You do all you can to avoid mosquitoes, but they are ubiquitous. I am glad it is nearly time for the frost to kill them off. Thanks for visiting!
ellie k, that is just awful! As I said to Colin above, I never thought I would be looking forward to first frost, especially when we have so many crops to get done yet, but at least frost will kill them off. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a moment to comment!
We have terrible mosquito borne virus....the county sprays all the time. We try to use the blocks in any standing water, but most of our stuff runs on through. I also try to keep the animals up-to-date on protection all the time. Another ugly here is heartworm disease.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Linda, this one pops up every now and then...hadn't heard about it in a while. Hopefully with frost so near it won't get too much of a foothold. We have West Nile, Lyme's Disease (from ticks) and heart worm too. I live coated in off. lol
Post a Comment