Syracuse, N.Y. -- A horse in Onondaga County has been euthanized after testing positive for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, according to the Onondaga County Health Department. The horse, stabled on Oswego Road in Lysander, became seriously ill and was put down Sept. 10. On Thursday the state forwarded lab results showing the animal had EEE to the county Health...
Syracuse, N.Y. -- A horse in Onondaga County has been euthanized after testing positive for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, according to the Onondaga County Health Department.
The horse, stabled on Oswego Road in Lysander, became seriously ill and was put down Sept. 10. On Thursday the state forwarded lab results showing the animal had EEE to the county Health Department.
It is the first horse diagnosed with EEE in Onondaga County since 2004. Two horses in Oswego County died in recent weeks after getting EEE. And an Onondaga County resident infected with the virus died last week, the fourth human EEE death in Central New York since 1971.
Although EEE cases are rare, the virus is one of the most serious mosquito-borne diseases. About one-third of people infected with the virus die. Most survivors suffer significant brain damage. There is no specific treatment for EEE, nor is there a human vaccine. Symptoms can range from a mild flu-like illness to sudden fever, muscle pains and a headache that’s often followed quickly by seizures and coma. Symptoms can appear within five to 15 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. EEE is diagnosed through blood or spinal fluid.
Fresh water swamps like the Cicero Swamp are breeding grounds for EEE-infected mosquitoes. The county conducted aerial spraying of the swamp last weekend.
Dr. Cynthia Morrow, Onondaga’s health commissioner, said EEE was not identified in any of the mosquito pools collected last week.
“It is imperative that Onondaga County residents continue to practice personal protection measures to reduce the transmission of mosquito borne disease,” she said.
She advised residents to use insect repellent, wear long sleeve shirts and long pants outdoors and refrain from outdoor activity during prime mosquito feeding times at dawn and dusk.