HEFLIN – A veterinarian with Rolling Hills Veterinary Clinic confirmed Wednesday the eastern equine encephalitis (EEE or “triple-e”) virus has infected at least one horse in Cleburne County. A virus commonly found in birds and horses, EEE is suspected in the death of five horses in Heflin and has been found in several other horses throughout Alabama. The EEE virus can be transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and can pose health risks similar to West Nile Virus, but reported cases of EEE in the state are far less common than reports of West Nile.
The Dennis family of Heflin included eight horses, five of which died from a mysterious illness over the course of several weeks. “These were family horses in more than just our family. They were also a family amongst themselves.” Donita Dennis believes the horses were infected about eight weeks ago and “started showing signs pretty soon after that.” The family of Tennessee Walker horses all had a “charming” disposition according to Dennis, so signs of lethargy were quickly noticed. “They would weave left to right,” she said as she described a growing number of horses dying only days after falling ill. After consulting with veterinarians across the state, including State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Dee Jones, blood tests were recommended to verify the cause of the illnesses.
Rolling Hills veterinarian Dr. Tracy Whitaker said “we did two blood samples and submitted them to Antech Diagnostics,” a Birmingham laboratory focused on testing medical samples from animal hospitals. “One of them did not test positive, and it had a fever and everything,” he said. “But the last one that we went out to see was actually down on the ground showing the symptoms and it tested positive.” Dennis said the blood tests took “weeks” to return. She and veterinarians had been aware of cases in other parts of Alabama and Dr. Whitaker said he has suspected the “sleeping sickness” in recent examinations including the Dennis horses. In 22 years of veterinary practice, Whitaker said of the EEE virus “I haven’t seen it until now.”
The Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed EEE has infected other horses this year in the southern half of the state. According to a July 31 press release, four cases were confirmed in Dallas County and additional cases were suspected in Baldwin and Montgomery counties but pending lab results. The ADPH release also says four confirmed cases of West Nile Virus have been found in chickens in Baldwin and Mobile counties. While human infections of the EEE virus are less common than West Nile strain, ADPH recommends Alabamians take preventative measures and use mosquito repellent during any outdoor activity to prevent any mosquito-transmitted disease.
Dr. Whitaker said the horses in Heflin were most likely infected by a mosquito which transferred the virus from an infected bird. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports seven cases of the EEE virus infecting humans in Alabama between 1967 and 2010. In the same time period, neighboring Georgia and Florida reported 28 and 70 cases of human infection, respectively. The CDC website states “EEEV transmission is most common in and around freshwater hardwood swamps in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states and the Great Lakes region.”
Vaccinations again EEE are available for horses, and the three remaining Dennis horses have all been inoculated in addition to treatments of topical long-term mosquito repellents. These vaccinations come too late for the family of Donita Dennis, however. “If I could say one word about this virus, it is ‘fast.’”