SARATOGA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A horse in Washington County has died from Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and the New York State Agriculture Department is urging horse owners to vaccinate. “Unfortunately, the mortality is extremely high, up to 90%. So, you want to make sure they don't get infected. Once they are infected unfortunately, they're prognosis remains very guarded to poor,” said Axel Sondhof, Veterinarian with Equine Clinic of Saratoga.
And as bad as that sounds, “The horse does not carry enough virus in the bloodstream to really be a threat for humans,” said Sondhof.
Washington County officials confirm it is the only identified case, there. However, there have been cases where the virus has been detected in nine other New York counties.
There is good news. Vaccines are nearly 100% effective, and the vaccine is affordable for most, it is about 40 bucks. “It's also very preventable which is why it is so important to vaccinate. The vaccination is very effective, but you need to be mindful that the vaccine does only last about six months,” said Dayna Jodzio, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga.
“If your horse hasn't been vaccinated prior to June it should probably receive a booster. So it's extremely important to keep up with these core vaccines which are very highly protective against this particular virus,” added Sondhof.
The disease is spread through mosquitoes, ones that have bit an infected bird. They then in turn bite and infect a horse. But there are precautions you can take to keep your animals from getting bit. “Minimizing the horse population and exposure remains a main stem to prevent that disease. Including keeping water buckets away from the horse population, fly masks, anything like this, you can minimize and reduce the exposure,” said Sondhof.
“Eliminating stagnant water as much as possible. Otherwise, that's, I mean, horses live outside. There are mosquitoes. So other than just avoiding breeding grounds, it's kind of the best thing that you can do from a farm-wide standpoint to help them,” explained Jodzio.
EEE may be considered rare, but it can pose serious life-threatening complications in humans. Some symptoms include high fever, muscle pains and or a headache of increasing severity. Seek immediate medical attention if these symptoms are present.
