Texas Owners: Vaccinate Against Mosquito-Borne Illnesses

The Texas Animal Health Commission is encouraging owners to vaccinate horses against WNV and EEE.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is encouraging owners to take precautions and vaccinate their equids to protect against the West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).

As of Sept. 1, the Texas Department of State Health Services has reported five cases of WNV and one case of EEE in 2017.

In addition to vaccinations, horse owners also need to reduce the mosquito populations and their possible breeding areas. Recommendations include removing stagnant water sources, keeping animals inside during the bugs’ feeding times (typically early in the morning and evening), and using mosquito repellents.

West Nile is transmitted to horses via bites from infected mosquitoes. Clinical signs for WNV include flulike signs, where the horse seems mildly anorexic and depressed; fine and coarse muscle and skin fasciculation; hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to touch and sound); changes in mentation (mentality), when horses look like they are daydreaming or "just not with it"; occasional somnolence (drowsiness); propulsive walking (driving or pushing forward, often without control); and "spinal" signs, including asymmetrical weakness. Some horses show asymmetrical or symmetrical ataxia. Equine mortality rate can be as high as 30-40%

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:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
328 votes · 328 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!