[ad_1]
OSWEGO, N.Y. – At Williamstown, a horse died of Eastern equine encephalitis, Oswego County's second horse killed this year by the mosquito-borne virus.
The horse died on October 5 and the EEE diagnosis was confirmed in the test results released Monday by the state health department.
Oswego County Public Health Director, Jiancheng Huang, said the horse had not been vaccinated against the EEE.
Another horse from the West Monroe town died of EEE in August.
Huang said that EEE and West Nile virus, also transmitted by mosquitoes, would remain active in the environment until the first strong frost.
Horses can not transmit the disease to humans, but they can be transmitted by infected mosquitoes to humans and horses.
There is no EEE vaccine for humans.
Human cases of EEE are rare. About one-third of people with EEE die from the disease and most survivors suffer brain damage. Since 1971, eight people have been killed in human EEE in central New York – five in Oswego and three in Onondaga.
Public health officials said people should use an insect repellent, wear protective clothing on the outside, and remove stagnant water that can be used as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Contact James T. Mulder at any time: E-mail | Twitter | 315-470-2245
How to avoid mosquito-borne diseases
[ad_2]
Source link
