Horse Owners: Vaccinate Against WNV, EEE

Owners are encouraged to vaccinate their horses prior to the onset of peak mosquito season.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Officials from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) are advising horse owners to plan “spring shots” with their veterinarians to ensure proper protection from mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).

“West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis pose serious risks to horses, causing neurologic symptoms that can lead to death, and it is vitally important to protect our equine population,” said MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux. “With numerous cases of both WNV and EEE in horses over the last five years, the timely use of vaccines can be a real benefit. I encourage all horse owners to heed this call, and ensure that their animals are vaccinated.”

The department reminded owners that annual vaccinations should be timed so that their animals are protected prior to the peak arboviral season (beginning in Massachusetts in late July and August) and to ensure that the vaccine will remain protective through the first hard frost. Owners are urged not to wait until positive cases are reported in their area, since it can take several weeks for an animal to be fully protected by a vaccine. Young animals or those not known to be vaccinated previously will likely need two vaccines for adequate protection. If timed correctly previously vaccinated animals in Massachuetts generally need only a single dose for the season.

In addition, owners should reduce potential mosquito breeding sites on their property by eliminating standing water from containers such as buckets, tires, and wading pools, especially after heavy rains. Water troughs could also provide mosquito-breeding habitat and should be cleaned frequently during the summer months. Horse owners should consider keeping horses stalled during times of peak mosquito activity around dusk and dawn to reduce their risk of exposure to mosquitoes and using approved insect and mosquito repellents

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
433 votes · 433 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!