Three Horses Die From EEE
The Jacksonville Daily News reported yesterday that three horses in the Newport, North Carolina, area have died from Eastern Equine Encephalitis since October. Read the article here.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners defines EEE as a “viral infection of the horse’s brain and spinal cord.” The disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, can also infect humans and selected birds. Signs of EEE in horses include “behavioral changes, loss of appetite and fever … dementia with head pressing, teeth grinding, circling and often blindness,” according to the AAEP.
The disease is fatal in up to 90 percent of equine cases, but also preventable through annual vaccination. There is no human vaccine.