Florida and New York had confirmed cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). All four of the confirmed horses were euthanized.
Florida—One Case
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported one confirmed case of EEE in a 16-year-old Quarter Horse cross mare in Bradford County on July 31. The onset of clinical signs was on July 18, which included depression and staggering. The unvaccinated mare was euthanized.
This was Florida’s 16th confirmed case of EEE this year.
New York—Three Cases
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets reported three confirmed cases of EEE. Two of the cases were in Lafargeville, New York, and one was in Evans Mill, New York.
The first horse in LaFargeville, New York, was an 11-year-old grade mare that had onset of clinical signs on July 25 that included depression, recumbent and no anal-tail tone. The mare was euthanized.
The second horse in LaFargeville, New York, was a 2-year-old grade colt that had onset of clinical signs on July 25 that included ataxia, recumbent, seizures and photophobic. The unvaccinated colt was euthanized.
Both horses were euthanized on July 26 due to poor quality of life. Brain samples for both animals were sent to the Wadsworth Lab. Rabies and West Nile virus were negative. EEE was detected in both the mare and colt. There was no recent travel history off of the farm. The attending veterinarian noted that the similar presentation of clinical signs occurred the summer prior to this episode, but the owner declined testing.
The case in Evans Mill, New York, was in a 6-year-old Standardbred mare. She had onset of clinical signs on July 26 that included appetite loss, falling, head pressing, leaning. The unvaccinated mare was euthanized.
The mare was euthanized on July 28 due to poor quality of life. Brain and blood samples were sent to both Cornell and Wadsworth Lab. Brain samples are pending for arboviruses. Rabies is negative. IgM for EEE is positive. Serology for WNV is negative. There was no recent travel off of the farm.
For an AAEP Fact Sheet about EEE go to this page.
Information for this report was provided by the Equine Disease Communication Center.
