By Jen Kendrick, North Carolina Pork Council | Apr 06, 2021
What started out as a feel-good story about rescue dogs from China turned into something much more serious, something that could have significant implications for U.S. livestock and agriculture.
In July 2019, a local news segment reported on an organization welcoming a group of dogs that had just arrived from China, rescued from an uncertain fate at a wet market. The footage showed the dogs receiving a hero’s welcome at a local veterinary clinic where they would be boarded until placed into foster homes. The anchors back in the studio gushed about how lucky the dogs were.
RALEIGH â The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus.
âMosquito-breeding season in North Carolina lasts from spring until the first frost and horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,â Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said. âEEE is fatal 90% of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30%. But both diseases are preventable by vaccination.â
Last year, North Carolina saw its first case of EEE in late July. There were nine recorded cases of EEE in 2020.
State Veterinarian Dr. Doug Meckes recommends that equine owners talk to their veterinarians about an effective vaccination protocol to protect horses from mosquito-borne diseases. The combination vaccination initially requires multiple injections for horses, mules and donkeys that have no prior vaccination history.