Horses and mosquitoes
Core Equine Disease Risks Increase Amid Mosquito Season
Horses are threatened with mortality rates up to 90 percent from mosquito-transmitted diseases, which include Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE), Western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) and West Nile virus.1
Horses are at the highest risk for contracting these diseases during mosquito season, occurring summer through fall in the United States.2 Risk management is critical for horse owners.
“There was a study done at Texas A&M showing that horses are built up to 2000 times an hour by mosquitoes that are around a mosquito pool. They are mainly bidden underneath on their belly and on their flanks, not so much on their top line.
“To help limit a horse’s risk of contracting deadly core equine diseases, annual vaccinations are immensely important,” said Jaci Boggs, DVM, senior technical services veterinarian at Zoetis. Vaccinated horses have shown to be 30 times less likely to contract West Nile virus.3 West Nile-Innovator® is the veterinarian’s first choice for core disease protection against West Nile virus and equine encephalomyelitis due to Eastern, Western and Venezuelan viruses.4 “In conjunction with annual vaccination, proper management of the environment to limit mosquito breeding opportunities is critical,
