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Source: http://recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1275636
Equine virus fells emus
Posted By Ronald Zajac, Staff Writer
A deadly virus considered rare in this area has devastated the emu population on a farm near here.
But the area's top public health official says the risk of area residents contracting eastern equine encephalitis is very low.
Diana Fletcher-deZeeuw and her husband Ian, owners of Noah's Farm on Pettem Road, discovered on Thanksgiving Day that one of their 28 emus was dead, she said Thursday.
It was a sad twist to what would have been a pleasant day, but the deZeeuws figured the bird's death could be attributed to old age.
But they were devastated to discover this first "casualty" would not be the last.
"Within the next couple of days, the others all started getting sick," said Diana Fletcher-deZeeuw.
"As soon as they start to show symptoms, it's pretty quick," she added. "By then, they're all infected, so there's not much you can do."
By the time the virus had run its terrible course, only eight emus were left, she said.
Dr. Jeff Kaufmann, their veterinarian, said he was not sure what he was dealing with when he did the post-mortem examination on the birds, so he called a pathologist.
That pathologist's report came in last week, confirming a diagnosis of eastern equine encephalitis, also known as "Triple-E."
As implied by the name, the virus affects horses, but also a number of other animals.
"Emus are much more susceptible to this virus," said Kaufmann. "The morbidity rate is pretty high."
Kaufmann is not sure whether the virus was spread from emu to emu, but he tends to favour the theory that they were all bitten by infected mosquitoes.
Triple-E can also spread to humans and has been linked to at least one person's death in Massachusetts this year.
Its profile resembles that of another virus by now well known in these parts, West Nile.
Like the latter, Triple-E spreads through mosquitoes that get it by biting birds, said Dr. Anne Carter, medical officer of health at the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
The symptoms in humans are similar to those of West Nile, including fever, muscle weakness, a stiff neck and severe headaches.
But Carter stressed the chances Triple-E has spread to humans in the area is extremely low, adding anyone bitten by an infected mosquito around the time the Noah's Farm animals were hit would have shown symptoms by now.
The recent cold weather, meanwhile, has done in the mosquitoes that could still be transmitting it.
Triple-E occasionally makes its way to eastern Ontario, said Carter, and while there were reports of it in New York State, the Noah's Farm case is the first the health unit has heard of here.
None of the mosquito pools the health unit tested this year proved positive for the virus, she added.
"It's very seldom a worry in this area."
West Nile is more likely to show up in the area, added Carter, and the same precautions taken against that virus will protect people from Triple-E.
Essentially, during mosquito season, people need to minimize their exposure to the insects and not allow for environments, such as standing water, where they can breed.
Kaufmann suggests people with animals, especially horses, should take precautions.
"We know it's in eastern Ontario, so people with horses should be vaccinating for the encephalitises."
Symptoms in horses include high fever and neurological effects such as dementia and head-pushing, as well as ataxia, or the loss of control over bodily movements, said Kaufmann.
Unfortunately, the virus is usually fatal if contracted by horses.
People who own horses that have not been vaccinated should make sure to call their veterinarian before the next mosquito season, said Kaufmann.
Fletcher-deZeeuw, who has other animals on her farm, has already vaccinated her donkeys and miniature horse.
She hopes to start fresh with new emu chicks and is thinking of having the surviving birds vaccinated as well.
"It's no picnic to vaccinate an emu," she said. "They get quite panicked."
Equine virus fells emus
Posted By Ronald Zajac, Staff Writer
A deadly virus considered rare in this area has devastated the emu population on a farm near here.
But the area's top public health official says the risk of area residents contracting eastern equine encephalitis is very low.
Diana Fletcher-deZeeuw and her husband Ian, owners of Noah's Farm on Pettem Road, discovered on Thanksgiving Day that one of their 28 emus was dead, she said Thursday.
It was a sad twist to what would have been a pleasant day, but the deZeeuws figured the bird's death could be attributed to old age.
But they were devastated to discover this first "casualty" would not be the last.
"Within the next couple of days, the others all started getting sick," said Diana Fletcher-deZeeuw.
"As soon as they start to show symptoms, it's pretty quick," she added. "By then, they're all infected, so there's not much you can do."
By the time the virus had run its terrible course, only eight emus were left, she said.
Dr. Jeff Kaufmann, their veterinarian, said he was not sure what he was dealing with when he did the post-mortem examination on the birds, so he called a pathologist.
That pathologist's report came in last week, confirming a diagnosis of eastern equine encephalitis, also known as "Triple-E."
As implied by the name, the virus affects horses, but also a number of other animals.
"Emus are much more susceptible to this virus," said Kaufmann. "The morbidity rate is pretty high."
Kaufmann is not sure whether the virus was spread from emu to emu, but he tends to favour the theory that they were all bitten by infected mosquitoes.
Triple-E can also spread to humans and has been linked to at least one person's death in Massachusetts this year.
Its profile resembles that of another virus by now well known in these parts, West Nile.
Like the latter, Triple-E spreads through mosquitoes that get it by biting birds, said Dr. Anne Carter, medical officer of health at the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
The symptoms in humans are similar to those of West Nile, including fever, muscle weakness, a stiff neck and severe headaches.
But Carter stressed the chances Triple-E has spread to humans in the area is extremely low, adding anyone bitten by an infected mosquito around the time the Noah's Farm animals were hit would have shown symptoms by now.
The recent cold weather, meanwhile, has done in the mosquitoes that could still be transmitting it.
Triple-E occasionally makes its way to eastern Ontario, said Carter, and while there were reports of it in New York State, the Noah's Farm case is the first the health unit has heard of here.
None of the mosquito pools the health unit tested this year proved positive for the virus, she added.
"It's very seldom a worry in this area."
West Nile is more likely to show up in the area, added Carter, and the same precautions taken against that virus will protect people from Triple-E.
Essentially, during mosquito season, people need to minimize their exposure to the insects and not allow for environments, such as standing water, where they can breed.
Kaufmann suggests people with animals, especially horses, should take precautions.
"We know it's in eastern Ontario, so people with horses should be vaccinating for the encephalitises."
Symptoms in horses include high fever and neurological effects such as dementia and head-pushing, as well as ataxia, or the loss of control over bodily movements, said Kaufmann.
Unfortunately, the virus is usually fatal if contracted by horses.
People who own horses that have not been vaccinated should make sure to call their veterinarian before the next mosquito season, said Kaufmann.
Fletcher-deZeeuw, who has other animals on her farm, has already vaccinated her donkeys and miniature horse.
She hopes to start fresh with new emu chicks and is thinking of having the surviving birds vaccinated as well.
"It's no picnic to vaccinate an emu," she said. "They get quite panicked."