Wisconsin has recorded its first case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis this year. State animal health officials say a two-year-old crossbred gelding from Monroe County has tested positive for the disease.
The animal, which was not vaccinated against EEE, was euthanized after showing rapid neurological signs.
EEE is caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, and may cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, and is fatal to horses in 90 percent of cases. Symptoms in horses include depression, appetite loss, drooping eyelids and lower lip, fever, weakness, twitching, paralysis or lack of coordination, aimless wandering, circling and blindness.
The virus is not contagious between horses, but can be carried by mosquitos from an avian, or bird, host to horses and humans.
Last year, Wisconsin had more than a half-dozen cases of EEE, including one human death as a result of the disease.
Categories: Wisconsin, General