State Veterinarian and Clemson University Livestock Poultry Health Director Boyd Parr said earlier this week that horse owners should be vigilant in maintaining current vaccinations for Eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus and rabies.
Parr said South Carolina led the country in 2013 with its 49 confirmed cases of EEE, a serious, and often fatal mosquito-borne illness in horses that can also affect humans.
Clarendon County had four such cases in 2014. The number fell to just seven statewide in 2014, with none for Clarendon, in large part to the vaccinations, Parr said.
“In South Carolina, we routinely see EEE cases reporter as early as une, making now a good time to vaccinate or (have) a booster on previously vaccinated horses,” Parr said. “We think the value of vaccinating was shown by the significant reduction in cases this past year as many more horseowners decided to vaccinate their horses after EEE took its toll in 2013.”
With EEE in horses completely preventable by vaccination, Parr said owners should consult with a veterinarian to assure shots against both EEE and West Nile virus are up to date. Most horses that succumb to one of these infections are not properly vaccinated, he noted.
EEE is maintained in nature through a cycle involving the freshwater swamp mosquito, culiseta melanura, commonly known as the blacktailed mosquito.
Two to three days after becoming infected with the EEE virus, a mosquito becomes capable of transmitting it. Infected mosquitoes can then transmit the disease when they bite horses and humans.
Symptoms usually develop in horses from two to five days after exposure, and include, in horses, stumbling, circling, head-pressing, depression or apprehension, weakness of legs, partial paralysis, the inability to stand and muscle twitching. Nine of every 10 horses infected with EEE virus die from the disease.
Any livestock, including horses, that display neurologic signs, such as stumbling, circling, head-pressing, depression or apprehension, must be reported to the state veterinarian at (803) 788-2260 within 48 hours, according the state law.
