Remember WNV, EEE in Horses’ Spring Vaccines

As the spring vaccination season approaches, consider have horses vaccinated against WNV and EEE.
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With more than 600 cases of equine West Nile virus (WNV) and more than 200 cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) reported in 2012, it was one of the worst years on record for these mosquito-borne diseases. Besides the alarming number of equine cases, more than 5,000 cases of WNV were reported in humans, resulting in 243 deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this was the highest on record since 2003.

“Horse owners can become complacent when it comes to diseases like West Nile virus because if they haven’t seen it in their area recently, they simply don’t think it will happen to their horses,” says Hoyt Cheramie, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, manager of Merial’s Large Animal Veterinary Services. “But what we saw in 2012 is that although the number of cases had declined during the past several years, it only takes one heavy mosquito season for the numbers to jump back up to record levels.”

The best way to help protect horses from mosquito-borne diseases is to vaccinate, adds Cheramie. “It simply isn’t worth taking a chance when it comes to diseases like West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis,” he says. “Both of these very preventable diseases have effects that are devastating for the horse and the horse owner.”

As the spring vaccination season approaches, horse owners should consider including WNV and EEE vaccinations in their schedules

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