Vaccinations well worth investment

OK, horse owners, today’s column is devoted to you. Rather than the usual dog and cat fare, the topics of West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis will be set forth. Not only are these topics timely, but the Mississippi Board of Animal Health has freshly updated data to share with our horse owners. As of Aug. 1, the news is actually pretty good.

It is not unusual for occurrences of encephalitides — both EEE (also known as “sleeping sickness”), and WNV (which made its stormy debut last year) — to increase during the summer months, when mosquito populations soar. Encephalitides means that the viruses involved in these diseases primarily affect the brain tissue of infected animals, causing symptoms ranging from fever to stupor to coma and even death. These diseases are most commonly seen in horses throughout the Southeast during warm weather, but in the case of West Nile last year, cases were reported in 44 states.

Preventive measures include all forms of mosquito control, including spraying of prone areas. The draining of areas with standing, stagnant waters and cleaning up old trash that holds water (non-usable troughs, tires and scrap metal) help to prevent mosquito breeding grounds. In the case of both West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, vaccinations are available to protect horses.