Visit Jim Hall's blog: Rapid Assessment Visit Janet Marshall's blog: In Moderation

Visit the Photo Place

View the Stafford County community page

Equine disease kills emu

Eastern equine encephalitis has proved fatal for a Spotsylvania County emu flock

By JIM HALL

Date published: 8/26/2003

By JIM HALL Illness strikes local bird flock

Virginia has recorded its first case of eastern equine encephalitis in an emu. The bird was part of a flock of emus owned by a Spotsylvania County resident.

Eight of nine birds in the flock died from the disease, said state Agriculture Department spokeswoman Elaine Lidholm.

Only one of the emus was tested for the disease, though the others are assumed to have died from it, Lidholm said. She declined to name the owner of the flock.

An emu is a large, flightless bird and a cousin to the ostrich. It is rare in the Fredericksburg area but prized for its meat and oil.

"We don't have a great concentration of emu production," said John Howe, agricultural agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension in Spotsylvania.

Eastern equine encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral disease that attacks the central nervous system. It occurs most often in horses in the late summer and early fall. It is rare in humans, with about four cases reported nationwide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms can include erratic behavior and a loss of coordination. The disease is almost always fatal in horses, though a vaccination is available.

"It is highly preventable in both horses and birds with a proper vaccination," said Dr. Donna Burge, a veterinarian based in Catlett in Fauquier County.

Most horse owners get a vaccination for their animals in spring, and Burge recommends they get a booster shot six months later.

The emu case is one of three cases of eastern equine encephalitis in Virginia this year; two of the cases occurred in horses.

Eastern equine is one of two mosquito-borne diseases that worry horse owners. The other--West Nile virus--has been detected in 25 horses in Virginia so far this year.

West Nile was fatal for a 14-year-old Appaloosa owned by a Spotsylvania County resident and a 22-year-old pony owned by a Stafford County resident. Cases were also reported in horses in Fauquier, Culpeper and Westmoreland counties.

To reach JIM HALL 540/374-5433 jhall@freelancestar.com

Follow us on

Date published: 8/26/2003