State officials confirmed a case of eastern equine encephalitis — EEE — in a Roscommon County horse Tuesday afternoon. The horse was euthanized, said a news release from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
This comes only weeks after the first human case of EEE in Michigan since 2021 was detected in Roscommon County.
The virus is spread through mosquito bites to both humans and animals. It's a rare but serious disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that approximately 30% of people who develop the illness die.
EEE cannot jump from person-to-person, or from animal-to-person. Symptoms can include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavior changes, and drowsiness.
Roscommon County has the only human case of EEE in the country so far this year, according to CDC data. The horse marks the second overall case in the state of Michigan.
“These detections show that EEE, along with other mosquito-borne viruses, is present in the state’s mosquito population,” State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland said in the MDARD release.
There is no vaccine or medication available to humans that prevents the disease. There is a vaccine for horses. The Roscommon County horse was unvaccinated, officials said.
State officials recommend preventing mosquito bites by applying insect repellant; wearing light-colors, long-sleeve shirts, and long sleeve pants when outdoors; maintaining screens on windows and doors; and emptying water-holding containers where mosquitoes can breed.
To prevent cases in animals, officials recommend vaccinating your horses against EEE, keeping livestock and pets in an indoor space during peak mosquito hours, and using insect repellent on animals.
