Two Texas Horses Test Positive for EEE

Both horses–one from Newton County and one from Orange County–were unvaccinated against Eastern equine encephalitis.
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The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) has confirmed Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in two horses in East Texas.

The horses were from separate facilities, one in Newton County and one in Orange County. The Orange County case is approximately 10 miles from an EEE case which occurred in 2014.

Eastern equine encephalitis is a viral disease that normally cycles between wild birds and mosquitoes. As the virus infection rate increases in birds it is more likely to be transmitted by an infected mosquito that bites horses and humans. The virus abruptly attacks the central nervous system. EEE cannot be transmitted from horse to horse, or from a horse to a human. Horses and humans are considered "dead-end" hosts which means if infected they cannot transmit the virus back to feeding mosquitoes.

Common clinical signs of EEE include moderate to high fever, depression, lack of appetite, cranial nerve deficits (facial paralysis, tongue weakness, difficulty swallowing), behavioral changes (aggression, self-mutilation, or drowsiness), gait abnormalities, or severe central nervous system signs, such as head-pressing, circling, blindness, and seizures

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