Horse with EEE Euthanized in New York

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Eastern equine encephalitis has claimed its first victim in New York this year – a 2-year-old gelding in Oswego County, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.

The horse, purchased earlier this year at a New York auction, was euthanized after it showed symptoms of EEE, a diagnosis that lab tests have now confirmed, the department said. EEE is a rare, but deadly virus that kills most infected horses and about a third of human victims. It leaves many survivors with permanent brain damage.

The virus, which can only be spread by mosquito bites, also has been found in mosquitoes in the four counties that border Oneida Lake – Oneida, Madison, Oswego and Onondaga, said Pete Constantakes, a spokesman for the state Department of Health. The mosquitoes infected with EEE in Oneida, Madison and Onondaga counties are a breed that generally bites birds, not horses or humans, Constantakes said.

But mammal-biting mosquitoes with EEE have been found in Oswego County, he said.

The gelding’s vaccination history was not known, but the current owner had not had it vaccinated for EEE, according to an Agriculture Department news release. None of the horses with which it lived have shown symptoms of EEE and all have since been vaccinated, the release said.