EEE and Strangles Reported in Florida Horses in January 2018

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has confirmed equine strangles in Lake and Walton Counties and EEE in St. Johns County in January 2018. 

On January 12, 2018, one horse in St. Johns County, Florida, was confirmed positive for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). The 2-year-old Miniature Horse gelding became clinical on January 10 and was euthanized on January 16 due to a poor prognosis. The vaccination history is unknown.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirmed strangles in two counties. On January 25, 2018, one premise in Lake County, Florida, was placed under quarantine for clinical signs and a positive culture confirmation of strangles. Three of the nine horses on the premise were showing clinical signs at the time of this report. 

On January 29, 2018, one premise in Walton County, Florida, was placed under quarantine for a positive PCR result for strangles. 

The Equine Disease Communication Center (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.