Equines, Humans Get Mosquito Virus
Hoof and Mouth Disease Transmitted This Year Without Publicity
While equine and human encephalitis cases were recorded this year, an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease in Minnesota received little public notice.
Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina have recorded cases of the viral disease La Crosse encephalitis this year, and Ohio logged two cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). In June, an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease in Minnesota was purposefully downplayed, receiving no major publicity because of security concerns.
Panic Avoided In Hoof-and-Mouth Uprising
To avoid possible public panic over the hoof-and-mouth disease discovered in an Austin, Minnesota slaughter facility, the United States Homeland Security Department flew under the radar with its investigation of the outbreak.
The highly contagious disease (not contracted by humans) afflicts cloven-hoofed animals such as cows, goats, pigs, and sheep. In June, an inspector at the slaughter house in Austin became suspicious of lesions he saw on some pigs that were part of a shipment of 200 of the animals.
One of the most feared of animal diseases because of its high contagion rate, hoof-and-mouth disease hasn't been a serious concern in the U.S. since an outbreak in 1929. In 2002, the beef industry lost $50 million in world wide cases.
In this year's outbreak, containing the infection was problematic because it involved a clearing house that receives, processes, and ships animals. Pigs in other states that had shared space in the slaughter station were quarantined.
The U.S. departments of State, Transportation, and Health and Human Services all took part with Agriculture in isolating the outbreak as a result of the government's terrorist intelligence and security network overseeing any incidents that might be grounded in suspicion.
Ohio Equines Contract EEE
A horse in northwest Ohio and one in the central portion of the Buckeye state were discovered to have contracted EEE, Eastern equine encephalitis. Without proper veterinary care, horses infected with EEE can easily become fatalities within several days. Infected mosquitoes carry and spread EEE in regions that are surrounded by freshwater hardwood swamps, such as the Great Lakes, the Atlantic, and the Gulf Coast states.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture's Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Reynoldsburg confirmed the Ohio EEE cases. The viral infection rarely is contracted by humans.
Three States Record La Crosse Encephalitis
La Crosse encephalitis, a rare disease in humans also transmitted by infected mosquitoes, has been recorded by health departments in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Ohio. The disease's culprit is the Eastern treehole mosquito which makes it home in the holes of trees, in old tires, and in trapped rainwater.
Human symptoms of the disease include aches and a fever. Children and the elderly are more at risk to contract the viral infection.
Health officials say La Crosse encephalitis may be under-estimated for severity and under-reported because its symptoms imitate the common cold. They warn that there should be significant caution taken when symptoms occur.
Child behavioral problems can result from contraction of La Crosse encephalitis, but few fatalities have been recorded. Ohio's 875 confirmed cases since 1963 accounted for six deaths.
