For Release: September 24, 1997

Contact: Alan Gettman, Ph.D. 277-6151

Stephanie Powell 277-2771 ext. 4418

PROVIDENCE - The RI Department of Environmental Management was notified yesterday afternoon that a horse from the Bradford area of Westerly, euthanised at Tufts University on September 10, tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE.) It is believed the horse was bitten by a mosquito carrying the EEE virus in late August or early September.

A serum sample taken before the horse's death was sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Veterinary Lab in Iowa September 8, with the results reported back to the attending veterinarian late Friday, September 19. The results were reported to the Centers for Disease Control, Ft. Collins, CO, Monday, and to DEM yesterday.

According to Alan Gettman, DEM's Mosquito Abatement Coordinator, there is no danger to anyone who had contact with the horse. Gettman said this case does not represent an escalation of EEE risk because the horse contracted the disease in late August or early September. In fact, he added, the one EEE isolation found through DEM's mosquito trapping program came from a September 2 isolation in Westerly about five miles from the location of the horse.

No EEE isolations from 80 samples collected statewide last week have been reported.

"In response to the September 2 isolation, we expanded our surveillance to include residential areas throughout Westerly, including a trap near the reported horse case," Gettman said. "No EEE has been isolated from any of these traps, nor from any traps set statewide, since the single September 2 isolation. We will further expand trapping in the vicinity of the horse case."

Gettman said a number of factors are helping to keep EEE at a minimal level, including a substantially reduced mosquito population because of the dry summer and actions the town of Westerly took to reduce the mosquito population in Chapman's Swamp, central to last year's EEE outbreak.

"Horses are out and more exposed to mosquito bites than people," he noted.

DEM Veterinarian Susan Littlefield said that EEE can be easily prevented in horses with a yearly booster. She also said that horses die so quickly from the disease they don't live long enough to be a source of infection. Gettman notes that EEE risk is relatively low at this time due to dwindling numbers of mosquitoes and reduced mosquito biting activity during cool evenings. "People are dressing in cool weather clothing. Nonetheless, they should continue to take normal precautions against mosquitoes until the first hard frost."

Those precautions include ensuring screens are in good repair, reducing unnecessary outdoor activity at dawn and dusk; wearing protective clothing such as long pants and long-sleeved shirts; and applying products containing the mosquito repellent DEET to clothing. Formulations that contain more than 20 percent DEET are unnecessary and may enhance skin reactions on some people. Repellents should not be used on infants, and children should be cautioned to avoid getting repellents in their eyes. Residents should also keep their backyards free of water-holding containers which create areas where mosquitoes can be produced.

The mosquito abatement program has information on a website: www.uri.edu/research/eee There is also a DEM webpage with rabies contacts information.