Cummings School Of Vet Medicine: Beware Of EEE, Vaccinate Horses

GRAFTON, MA — Tufts' Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton is reminding residents to get their horses vaccinated for Eastern equine encephalitis as summer ramps up.

While EEE affects both humans and animals, the illness is worse for horses. According to Cummings School clinical assistant professor Julia Wilkinson, V10, nine out of 10 horses with EEE die, usually within two to three days of showing symptoms.

Symptoms of EEE in horses typically start with high fever, a lack of appetite, lethargy, and depression and progress to neurologic signs including weakness, difficulty walking, seizures, and an inability to stand.

Last year, the virus infected eight horses in Massachusetts — Wilkinson said that New England is likely in the middle of a three-year surge in the viral disease, which tends to flare up every ten years.

An effective vaccine for horses exists for EEE, but not for people. Wilkinson said late May through July is the ideal time to vaccinate horses to ward off the virus, which tends to peak in late summer and fall in New England.