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Cases of eastern equine encephalitis have been confirmed in Indiana

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne disease, has been detected in northern Indiana. One person and 15 horses have died as a result.

Sandra Norman, the director of Companion Animal/Equine at the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, says EEE is a viral disease that lives in the bird population and is carried by mosquitoes. She says EEE is carried by a mosquito that most commonly breeds when there are large amounts of water, which has been the case in northeastern Indiana and southwestern Michigan.

“We’ve had 16 diagnosed cases in horses and that’s much higher than the one or two we may see every year,” she says. “We’ve also had a human case, but to our north in Michigan they’ve had 23 animals diagnosed with EEE and they’ve had 9 humans and four of them have been fatalities.”

This is the first human case in Indiana since 1998 and only the fourth reported since 1964. There are typically only 5 to 10 human cases reported in the US each year.

Norman says the disease causes flu-like symptoms and neurologic problems.

“The signs associated with eastern equine encephalitis are central nervous system,” she says. “So while horses may start out and be ataxic or stumbling, they’ll get into things like circling or head pressing which means they’re having pressure on the brain because this virus affects the brain.” 

She says people should vaccinate their horses and take precautions against mosquito bites.