The latest update on equine infecious neurological diseases in Ontario (Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), West Nile virus (WNV), rabies and neuropathic equine herpevirus type 1 (EHV-1)) is available from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

There aren’t a lot of surprises, and it’s good to see the numbers of cases have remained relatively low. Most notably, there have been three EEE and five WNV cases confirmed, from different regions of the province. This shows that these diseases are still occurring in Ontario horses, albeit at a very low rate.

You always have to consider the limitations of surveillance data like this. To make the list, a horse has to get infected, get sick enough for someone to notice, a veterinarian has to be called and proper samples have to be taken for diagnostic testing. There’s certainly no guarantee that this happens in all instances, and it’s reasonable to assume that a few more cases of these diseases have occurred in Ontario this year.

In Ontario, August and September tend to be the months of highest activity for EEE and WNV, and as we move into cooler weather (and decreased mosquito activity) the risk of EEE and WNV will start to plummet. I wouldn’t be surprised if the numbers increase slightly by the time the final tally is made, but there are no indications that we have major disease activity at the moment.

Surveillance data such as this, including total numbers of cases in the province and an indication of areas where case occur, are important for horse owners and veterinarians to consider when determining their vaccination programs.