Mosquito Virus Kills Horse In South Jersey

SALEM COUNTY, NJ — A South Jersey pony was euthanized last week after contracting a mosquito-borne illness.

The Salem County horse, put down Sept. 4, had Eastern Equine Encephalitis — a serious, viral illness in horses transmitted by a mosquito bite — according to the NJ Department of Agriculture.

The geriatric gelding pony developed the second-known EEE case of the calendar year among New Jersey horses. Its reported symptoms included fever, inability to rise and loss of front-and-rear muscle control. The creature was unvaccinated, officials said.

In early August, an Atlantic County mare died from the illness and had not current on EEE vaccination. A person in Atlantic County tested positive for EEE a month prior, marking New Jersey's first-reported human case in five years.

"Triple E" causes inflammation of the brain tissue and carries a significantly higher risk of death in horses than West Nile Virus — another mosquito-borne illness that impacts horses' neurological systems.

EEE cycles between birds and mosquitos, with horses and humans being incidental hosts. The infections in horses don't pose significant risks to human health, since horses — like humans — are "dead-end" hosts for the virus, says the state agricultural department.

Horse owners should get their animals vaccinated to better protect them against mosquito-borne illnesses, says Ed Wengryn, the state's secretary of agriculture.

"Vaccinated animals are much less likely to contract deadly diseases such as EEE and West Nile Virus," Wengryn said in a statement.

A dozen surveilled mosquito pools (groups of mosquitos) across the state have tested positive for EEE this calendar year.

Meanwhile, West Nile Virus has killed three people in the state this year, according to the NJ Department of Health.

For more information on EEE, visit the state agricultural department's website. Visit the CDC's website for more info on West Nile Virus.