Horse put down after getting rare disease from mosquito, North Carolina officials say
A horse in North Carolina had to be put down after getting a rare disease from a mosquito.
The 4-year-old mare in Cumberland County contracted the state’s first case of the mosquito-borne disease, Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis this year, according to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
EEE causes the brain and spinal cord to swell and is usually fatal, but it is preventable in horses through a vaccine, and people are encouraged to get their horses vaccinated, the department said Tuesday.
Symptoms, which can take up to 10 days after a mosquito bite to show, include “impaired vision, aimless wandering, head pressing, circling, inability to swallow, irregular staggering gait, paralysis, convulsions and death,” the department said.
“If your horses exhibit any symptoms of EEE, contact your veterinarian immediately,” State Veterinarian Doug Meckes said, according to the department. “It is imperative that horse owners keep their vaccines current; talk to your veterinarian about vaccinating them as soon as possible against EEE and West Nile virus.”
People can also get the disease from a mosquito bite, the department said.
EEE is rare and there are only a few cases in the country each year, according to the CDC, but it’s fatal for about 30 percent of people that do get it and there is no vaccine available to humans.
In people, symptoms of the disease include fever, joint pain, muscle pain and chills, and can last up to two weeks, the CDC said. People who contract the disease should seek treatment from a doctor.
Even after recovering, people can be left with ongoing neurological problems, the CDC said.
The best way to prevent the disease is to avoid mosquito bites by wearing bug repellent, wearing long sleeves and long pants, and controlling mosquitoes inside and outside using screens on windows and doors and emptying, covering or throwing out things that hold water outside, the CDC said.
To prevent horses from getting the disease, keep them in stalls at night, use screens and fans, and turn off lights when it’s dark outside, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said.
This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 6:23 PM.
