Update on our Sick Horses

[shadyacersminis]

Hi Everyone

After 14 days, We finally recieved our test results for EEE, WEE, VEE, EHV and West Nile.... Both Appy and Dee Dee came up positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis... Dee Dee is almost back to normal, But Appy is still having problems, She is still stiff legged and stagers around with her head to the ground.... When she gets really bad, all she wants top do is lay down.... There isnt much we can do for her except try to maker as comfortable as possible and pray she makes a recovery.... It is such a big relief to atleast know what we are dealing with... Its no fun playing guessing games and trying to treat horses you have no idea whats wrong... Thanks for all the prayres, They are greatly appreciated...

William

 

[Miniv]

Well, I'm glad you at least know.....but very saddened to hear what you are dealing with.

Will be praying for your little one(s).

MA

 

[jleonard]

I'm glad to hear you have a diagnosis and will be praying that both of your horses make a full recovery.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

WOW how scary I am glad though you know what you are dealing with that does in a way take someof the stress out of it.

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]I think these horses will now always have a positive coggins..... I could be wrong... here in VA we had a case a couple years ago and the state made them put the horse down.[/SIZE]

Im glad your girl is getting better and hope for the second one a recovery as well.

Lyn

 

[Minimor]

Lyn, I think you misread--this is EEE, nothing at all to do with the coggins test. That is EIA.

I'm glad to hear you have a diagnosis, but still scary to know it is EEE. Dee Dee is very, very lucky; EEE has such a high mortality rate. I hope Appy will pull through & recover to normal, or at least nearly normal. It would seem that since she's held on for this long she may well pull through now, but only time will tell how much permanent damage there is.

I've known a couple horses that survived WEE; one was left "sleepy" for the rest of its life; the other seemed normal unless she was worked too hard, then she would lose control of her hindquarters for a time. Our WNV mare took several weeks to get over her on-again, off-again hindquarter weakness, & it took several months for her to lose her sensitivity to loud noises.

I expect Appy's recovery will be very slow, but we'll be praying for her here!

 

[Reble]

Both Appy and Dee Dee came up positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis...

Found this on a web site

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=197

:no: Sorry to hear about your horses. :no:

 

[CyndiM]

I'm praying for a complete recovery for both of your horses.

 

[mistyrose]

Had they been vaccinated for EEE?

 

[Marty]

I'm glad you found out what was wrong William. I guess I was close but no cigar



I heard last night on Fox News that infulenza may be on the rise in southern states as well as especially but I guess your blood tests are including that.

William I had a horse die from sleeping sickness but that was over 25+ odd years ago when there was little that could be done if anything at all. And yes, my horses were all very well vaccinated. I am sure now that the vets are working very hard on doing everything possible, and have some good ideas on how to medicate your girl, Lord knows you have done your best.

Also the horses will not have a possitive EIA test every time either as long as they are not running a temp at the time blood is drawn and even if it is, you can repeat that test three times in Florida if you come up with a possitive test.

 

[DebiM]

I'm so glad they found what is wrong so you know and the Vet knows.

Libby, If my memory serves me right I think William posted here or on my Barn Cam forum that the horses had been tested.

Debi

 

[shadyacersminis]

Mistyrose,

Yes, They are current on all their vaccinations, We keep all our horses current on everything... The vet seems to think that the vaccination helped keep the virus at bay some, and all the intensive care we gave them is what is kept them going...

The coggins was one of the first things we got back, It was negative, EIA was one of the first things we ruled out, It took them forever to get the rest of the results back...

One thing that is wierd about the tests

: , When the vets office called us and told us they were positive for EEE, they didnt mention anything about WEE, but when we got I got copy in hand today....Dee Dee came up positive for both Eastern and Western... Is this possible to have both strains of Encephalitis in one horse at the same time, and Dee Dee is the one that is acting normal again...

Here are the results, Im not sure what the numbers mean exactly, I think they mean the concentration of the virus, but I could be wrong....

Dee Dee

EEE- Positive 1:32

WEE- Positive - 1:4

Appy

EEE - Positive 1:16

WEE - Negative

 

[Annetta]

There was a horse (Mini) in Florida last year that had both EEE & WEE--I think it was mentioned in the World? But that horse died (or was euthanized?) very early in its illness.

Sounds like Dee Dee was especially lucky--to have both kinds of sleeping sickness & yet recover so quickly (even if it didn't seem "quick" when you were nursing her.

Good luck with Appy, I hope she comes along for you.

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

So sorry to hear about your horses - and how fortunate they're both surviving.

Thank goodness they were vaccinated! As we're in California the threat of EEE isn't high, but we do vaccinate for both EEE/WEE. I didn't know until last year that EEE was as serious as it was, actually higher fatality in unvaccinated horses than WEE or WNV.

We'll definitely keep your minis in our thoughts/prayers for a full and speedy recovery.

Here is a link for anyone interested in EEE -

Info on EEE WEE

 

[Wally]

Right guys, where I'm from we have none of these diseases.

What does a coggins test detect?

How are these diseases they tested for spread?

Can they be treated or vaccinated against?

Waht is EE and WEE?

IS it a big problem in the US?

Just read some of the links, wow, these are nasty conditions,

AS they say "know thy enemy" at least you know what you are up against and can treat them

 

[ChrystalPaths]

You all have my prayers for a full recovery. Better to know the devil you face, I wish you all well.

 

[Magic]

Oh wow, sounds like a good news/bad news sort of thing. It's good to know what you are dealing with, but it sounds like there isn't much you can do for it. I sure will be praying for your mares, especially poor Appy since she is still struggling so much with it, poor girl.

Thanks Reble for that link; I had no idea that horses should be re-vaccinated later in summer when there are a lot of mosquitoes. Scary stuff.

 

[HGFarm]

I hope your little kids recover ok. It's good to know what is going on, but that is really scary! Hang in there- they obviously have a very caring home!!

 

[Birdmomjb]

The numbers you see beside each of the tests tells at what dilution the test was last positive the lower the number the less antigens are circulating in the horses blood stream.

1:4 is one part serum to 3 parts water and would show a week infection while a 1:32 is one part serum to 31 parts water therefore there are more antigens in the serum.

The test is done on a 1:2, 1:4, 1:8,1:16,1:32 ect

A test positive at 1:32 would be positive for all the first tests but neg at a 1:64

I hope this helps to understand the titers that you have been given

Jan

 

[Chandler@RoyalPalm]

Hope everything works out the best for you! Thats not something fun to go through I imagine...