Owners Urged to Ensure Horses’ Vaccinations are Up to Date

With warm weather here and mosquito season under way, Delaware horse owners are being advised to make certain their equids’ vaccinations are current to protect against the threat of potentially fatal diseases.
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With warm weather here and mosquito season under way, Delaware horse owners are being advised to make certain their equids’ vaccinations are current to protect against the threat of two potentially fatal diseases.

Unvaccinated horses suffer most severely from both West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE), which are spread by infected mosquitoes and can be fatal, said Delaware State Veterinarian Heather Hirst, DVM, who heads the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Poultry and Animal Health Section. Delaware had two confirmed equine cases of EEE and six confirmed equine cases of WNV in 2013.

“Vaccination is a simple and cost-effective way of preventing these diseases—far cheaper than treating them,” Hirst said. “Horse owners should take full precautions to keep their horses safe, and be on the alert for signs of infection.”

Both horses and humans can contract WNV and EEE if bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, but it is important to note that the viruses cannot be transmitted between horses or from horses to people. The viruses normally exist in a cycle between mosquitoes and birds, but occasionally EEE can be transmitted from mosquitoes to mammals

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