Equine infections can result in abrupt death without any symptoms or progressive neurological impairments. Fever, depression, decreased appetite, weakness, loss of coordination, circling, and seizures are a few of these. Blindness, excitability, irritability, and aggressiveness may also occur. Horses experience a high mortality rate at approximately 75%-90%. Horses who survive often have permanent nervous system damage. It is advised to vaccinate horses and susceptible birds in regions where EEE is prevalent.
It is advisable to take precautions like controlling mosquito vectors and minimizing exposure to mosquito bites. Eliminating the breeding habitat helps reduce mosquito populations. Wheelbarrows, pool covers, birdbaths, gutters, and any other place where water can collect are examples of areas with standing water. Mosquito dunks, which have a natural bacterial product that kills mosquito larvae, can be used to treat the water in pools and ponds.
Mosquito surveillance by local health departments is voluntary. In counties that carry out surveillance, weekly collections of mosquito pools from traps are made during the summer. The Wadsworth Laboratory of the New York State Department of Health examines mosquitoes for a variety of arboviral illnesses. Human cases of meningitis and encephalitis are reported to state and federal agencies, and since EEE is a nationally notifiable disease, the Centers for Disease Control receives reports on cases of the illness.
Between 1971 and 2011, there were five documented fatal cases of EEE in humans in New York State. In the past, instances involving both humans and animals have happened in a small region of Central New York, mainly in the counties of Oneida, Madison, Oswego, and Onondaga. But the majority of counties don’t actively monitor for West Nile virus or EEE. The first recorded cases of an infected horse and positive mosquito pools in Chautauqua County were in 2013.
Most humans that contract EEE will be asymptomatic. Fever, chills, and malaise are among the symptoms of a sudden flu-like illness that characterizes mild cases. Although a systemic illness typically lasts one to two weeks, most patients recover. Signs of the more severe form include drowsiness, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, fever, headache, irritability, restlessness, and coma. Roughly one-third of those who have the severe form of EEE pass away from the illness. Patients who recover often suffer disabling long-term damage.
In freshwater hardwood swamps, the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus is sustained through a cycle involving Culiseta melanura mosquitoes and avian hosts. Because Culiseta melanura almost exclusively feeds on birds, it is not thought to be a significant human EEE virus vector. Another mosquito species must establish a “bridge” between infected birds and uninfected mammals, like people or horses, in order for the disease to spread to humans. The Aedes, Coquillettidia, and Culex genera contain the majority of the species found on bridges. It has been established that organ transplantation can spread the EEE virus, with one organ donor infecting three recipients of organ transplants.
Horses can contract the EEE virus, and many of these infections are lethal. However, since horses and humans are regarded as the virus’s “dead-end” hosts, EEE virus infections in horses do not raise the risk of infections in humans. e. generally don’t have enough virus in their bloodstreams to infect mosquitoes. Horses can be protected against EEE virus infection with a vaccine. Page last reviewed: Content source:
FAQ
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