Mosquitoes that feed on EEE-infected birds can transmit the virus to humans, horses, and other birds. | Photo: iStock

Officials at Clemson Livestock and Poultry Health (CLPH) have confirmed that a second Horry County, South Carolina, horse was euthanized due to Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE). The 10-year-old Quarter Horse mare was reported as unvaccinated. Other horses at the facility have been vaccinated.

The death follows the euthanasia of another Horry County horse earlier in the month: a yearling Quarter Horse filly with unknown vaccination status. A 2-year-old Miniature Horse filly in Edgefield County that had been vaccinated also tested positive and is recovering under voluntary quarantine (see “EEE Spread in South Carolina”).

South Carolina’s first confirmed case of EEE for 2020 also occurred this month, in Marion County. The yearling Tennessee Walking Horse colt had not been vaccinated and was euthanized