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Horse dies from EEE disease
Equine owners urged to get their animals vaccinated.
By TONY BRITT
tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
A Columbia County horse was euthanized after contracting Eastern Equine Encephalitis last week, and state officials are advising horse owners to have their animals vaccinated.
Mark Lander, Columbia County’s Environmental Health Department director, confirmed the positive EEE case Friday evening.
“Right now we have one confirmed case and that was the horse,” Lander said. “It’s been two years since we had a case of EEE.”
Lander said the horse was housed in the northern part of the county near the Triple Run Road area. He said the horse started showing symptoms last week and was euthanized.
“We have contacted mosquito control and informed them of the area so they can focus their spraying,” Lander said.
EEE is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system and is transmitted to horses by infected mosquitoes. Signs of the virus include fever, listlessness, stumbling, circling, coma and usually death. The disease is fatal in horses in 90 percent of cases.
Lander said residents should not fear an EEE outbreak.
“This is not uncommon,” he said. “Right now we are the 11th county in the state that has had EEE activity this year. This is just a reminder we do have these mosquito-borne diseases, EEE and West Nile Virus.
“There is nothing to fear, but we have to prepare ourselves,” Lander said. “There is no fear of an epidemic of EEE or West Nile. It’s that time of the year and we need to protect ourselves and make sure we prepare the residents.”
On Friday, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson released a statement reminding horse owners to take advantage of the vaccines available to protect their animals against EEE and West Nile Virus.
According to reports from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, EEE has been confirmed in horses in Columbia, Putnam, Lake, Polk, Clay and Volusia counties, all of which were fatal. Volusia County has been hit the hardest, with four of the nine cases having been found there.
“I am very concerned about the high number of cases so early in the year and I hope it doesn’t mean we are in for a bad year,” Bronson said in a prepared statement. “But we can take steps to keep that from happening, and that is to get the vaccinations done as quickly as possible.”
According to the FDOA there have been 11 cases of EEE which have been confirmed in Florida since the beginning of the year,
even though the peak season does not begin until May. There were 18 cases of EEE statewide in 2007.
HELPFUL HINTS
The five “D’s” for personal protection from
mosquito-borne disease:
■ Dusk — Limit outdoor activity during this time of the day because it’s a high mosquito feeding activity period
■ Dawn — Limit outdoor activity during this time of the day because it’s a high mosquito feeding activity period. If you have to be outside dress appropriately
■ Dress — If you must be outside dress appropriately. Wear long sleeves and long pants to cover your body with as much clothing as possible
■ Drainage — Don’t have standing water around your house. Mosquitoes will breed in stagnated water
■ DEET — Use appropriate repellents. Use it per
the manufacturer’s
recommendation and before using it on smaller children read the
instructions
Mark Lander, Columbia County’s Environmental Health Department director, confirmed the positive EEE case Friday evening.
“Right now we have one confirmed case and that was the horse,” Lander said. “It’s been two years since we had a case of EEE.”
Lander said the horse was housed in the northern part of the county near the Triple Run Road area. He said the horse started showing symptoms last week and was euthanized.
“We have contacted mosquito control and informed them of the area so they can focus their spraying,” Lander said.
EEE is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system and is transmitted to horses by infected mosquitoes. Signs of the virus include fever, listlessness, stumbling, circling, coma and usually death. The disease is fatal in horses in 90 percent of cases.
Lander said residents should not fear an EEE outbreak.
“This is not uncommon,” he said. “Right now we are the 11th county in the state that has had EEE activity this year. This is just a reminder we do have these mosquito-borne diseases, EEE and West Nile Virus.
“There is nothing to fear, but we have to prepare ourselves,” Lander said. “There is no fear of an epidemic of EEE or West Nile. It’s that time of the year and we need to protect ourselves and make sure we prepare the residents.”
On Friday, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson released a statement reminding horse owners to take advantage of the vaccines available to protect their animals against EEE and West Nile Virus.
According to reports from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, EEE has been confirmed in horses in Columbia, Putnam, Lake, Polk, Clay and Volusia counties, all of which were fatal. Volusia County has been hit the hardest, with four of the nine cases having been found there.
“I am very concerned about the high number of cases so early in the year and I hope it doesn’t mean we are in for a bad year,” Bronson said in a prepared statement. “But we can take steps to keep that from happening, and that is to get the vaccinations done as quickly as possible.”
According to the FDOA there have been 11 cases of EEE which have been confirmed in Florida since the beginning of the year,
even though the peak season does not begin until May. There were 18 cases of EEE statewide in 2007.
HELPFUL HINTS
The five “D’s” for personal protection from
mosquito-borne disease:
■ Dusk — Limit outdoor activity during this time of the day because it’s a high mosquito feeding activity period
■ Dawn — Limit outdoor activity during this time of the day because it’s a high mosquito feeding activity period. If you have to be outside dress appropriately
■ Dress — If you must be outside dress appropriately. Wear long sleeves and long pants to cover your body with as much clothing as possible
■ Drainage — Don’t have standing water around your house. Mosquitoes will breed in stagnated water
■ DEET — Use appropriate repellents. Use it per
the manufacturer’s
recommendation and before using it on smaller children read the
instructions
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