The Georgia Department of Agriculture reported three positive cases of EEE and one suspected case, plus it placed a premises in Pickens County under quarantine for strangles.
The three confirmed EEE cases were an 8-year-old Paint gelding that had been vaccinated in Effingham County; an 11-month-old Friesian filly that was unvaccinated in Houston County; and a 4-year-old Miniature Horse that was unvaccinated in Lowndes County. The Georgia Department of Agriculture said a suspect case of EEE was identified in Bryan County in a 15-year-old vaccinated Miniature Horse.
Three horses presented with neurologic signs such as ataxia, head tremors, seizures and difficulty rising. The Paint gelding in Effingham County had an insidious onset with an initial complaint of pneumonia.
All four horses were euthanized.
That makes four confirmed cases and one suspect case of EEE in Georgia this year.
Georgia Strangles
On September 1, a single premise in Pickens County, Georgia, was placed under quarantine for a positive strangles culture. The index case developed clinical signs on August 26.
Georgia WNV
One horse in Laurens County and one horse in Carroll County presented with acute onset ataxia and difficulty rising assumed to be due to West Nile virus (WNV). The Laurens County horse was a 2-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse filly. The Carroll County horse was a 4-year-old unvaccinated Tennessee Walking Horse mare.
One horse was euthanized and the other is recovering.
That brings the total WNV cases in Georgia for 2017 to two confirmed and one presumptive positive.
Nevada WNV Cases
The Nevada Department of Agriculture confirmed West Nile virus in three horses in Nevada this week. The first was a 2-year-old male horse with unknown vaccination status in Washoe County; the second horse was an unvaccinated adult stallion in the Virginia Range Estray herd located in Lyon County; and the third horse was 22-year-old unvaccinated mare in Humboldt County. For more information visit the website of the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Utah WNV
On August 30, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food received confirmation of WNV in an unvaccinated 5-year-old Quarter Horse mare in Box Elder County. The horse was ataxic, unable to eat or drink, and was euthanized shortly after failing to respond to treatment. An interactive map of WNV cases in Utah is available at ag.utah.gov/animal.html.
This article was created with information from the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC). The EDCC works to protect horses and the horse industry from the threat of infectious diseases in North America. The communication system is designed to seek and report real time information about disease outbreaks similar to how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerts the human population about diseases in people.
