02-05-2025
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner encourages Horse Vaccinations to prevent deadly diseases
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT)– Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus.
The goal is to vaccinate against these mosquito-borne diseases and rabies. Now is a crucial time to get this vaccination as the temperatures really start to heat up and mosquitos begin to pop up. EEE is transmitted through infected mosquitos making it potentially dangerous.
'Mosquito-breeding season in North Carolina lasts from spring until the first frost and horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,' Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said. 'EEE is fatal 90 percent of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30 percent. However, both diseases are preventable by vaccination.'
EEE causes brain inflammation, fever, vomiting, or neurological disease. Only a few cases are reported in the United States each year, with most occurring in eastern or Gulf Coast states according to the CDC.
Similar symptoms can be found with the West Nile Virus, in addition to rashes.
'So far this year we have had no cases of EEE or WNV, but last year there were five cases of EEE and two cases of West Nile Virus,' Troxler added.
At Rocking Horse Ranch in Greenville, they take proper precautions to make sure their horses are healthy and happy. Last year mosquito season was very busy at the ranch along with bugs and eastern North Carolina deer flies. They stay prepared as the horses are sprayed daily and groomed by volunteers and staff.
The staff does a great job letting the horses enjoy the nice weather outside, while also letting them cool down and take breaks in their stables between lessons or when it gets too hot out.
'Yeah, especially as it's getting warmer, we've got to watch out for bugs. So, we do have the facility sprayed to hopefully cut down on some of the mosquitoes. They get sprayed daily by our barn manager and even before lessons if we notice that there's more gnats or mosquitoes, right now we're having the fun battle of eastern North Carolina deer flies,' Executive Director of Rocking Horse Ranch, Lauren Harrell said.
Some of the seasoned veteran horses are used to this extensive check-in, like Lexi who has been there for 20 years.
'With Lexi having so much hair, we really have to pay attention to her legs and underneath all of this hair to make sure she has no sores or something called scratches,' Harrell said.
EEE outbreaks in horses typically precede any human cases. Approximately a third of all people who develop severe eastern equine encephalitis die. Death usually occurs 2 to 10 days after onset of symptoms but can occur much later according to the CDC.
Troxler adds that Coggins testing and rabies vaccination should also be a part of equine care.
Prevention of these diseases focuses on avoiding mosquito bites and avoiding standing water where mosquitos breed.
State Veterinarian Dr. Mike Martin recommends that equine owners talk to their veterinarians about an effective vaccination protocol to protect horses from mosquito-borne diseases. The combination vaccination initially requires multiple injections for horses, mules and donkeys that have no prior vaccination history.
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