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6-27-2003 |
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VACCINE RECOMMENDED FOR NEW ENCEPHALITIS STRAIN The discovery of a strain of encephalitis previously unrecorded in West Virginia has prompted the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) to advise horse owners to have their animals vaccinated against eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), also called “triple-e.” “This is another illustration of the wide variety of diseases that threaten both humans and domesticated animals,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “Triple-e is untreatable and especially deadly to horses. However, there is a horse vaccine, and the (WVDA) is urging people to have their animals immunized before this disease gains a foothold in the state.” The disease was discovered around June 21 in birds in Nicholas and Wood Counties. Like West Nile Virus and Lacrosse encephalitis, birds serve as a reservoir for triple-e and mosquitoes transmit the disease to other animals. Unlike West Nile and Lacrosse, triple-e is rarely seen – only 153 human cases have been documented in this country since 1964 – but is frequently deadly. Approximately 30 percent of people and up to 90 percent of the horses that contract the disease die from it. According to State Veterinarian Dr. Joe Starcher, two factors add up to a bleak prognosis: the earliness in the year the disease was discovered and the wet weather that has been so prevalent this spring. “Most of the previous reports on triple-e have come from the east coast and have come later in the year,” said Dr. Starcher. “This is an early report in an area with no history of the disease. If the precipitation continues the way it has, we could be looking at a bumper crop of mosquitoes to spread this disease.” The solution, said Starcher, is to call your local veterinarian to schedule a vaccination, which also contains protection against western equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, equine influenza and tetanus, which is prevalent in the digestive tract of horses. The WVDA does not stock or administer the vaccine. Mosquito control is also critical, Starcher added. Standing water should be eliminated around houses and barns, and people should protect themselves against mosquito bites by wearing long clothing, and by using repellants containing DEET. Symptoms of triple-e include hypersensitivity to sound and touch with periods of excitement and restlessness with apparent blindness. Affected horses may walk blindly into objects or walls. Muscle twitching may occur in the face and shoulder muscles. A period of severe depression follows. Affected horses stand with their heads hung low and may have a half-chewed mouthful of feed hanging from their lips. The animal appears to be asleep and is unable to hold up his head and often rests it on some solid object. For more information, contact the WVDA Animal Health Division at 304/558-2214. |
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©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved |
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