The NC Department of Agriculture reported on 8/22/16 they have received a laboratory report confirming the seventh positive case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) for 2016 in North Carolina.  The case is located in:

        Robeson County - 18-month-old unvaccinated paint horse. 

Owners are urged to vaccinate their horses regularly for protection from this deadly virus.  

Symptoms that appear during the fever include sensitivity to sound, periods of excitement, and restlessness. Brain lesions appear, causing drowsiness, drooping ears, circling, aimless wandering, head pressing, inability to swallow, and abnormal gait. Paralysis follows, causing the horse to have difficulty raising its head. The horse usually suffers complete paralysis and death two to four days after symptoms appear. Mortality rates among horses with the eastern strain range from 70 to 90%.