A laboratory-confirmed case of virus encephalitis (eastern equine type) in a horse in Pennsylvania.

The research paper presents a laboratory-confirmed case of eastern equine encephalitis virus in a horse from Pennsylvania, an infection previously unseen in the state.

Disease Overview

• The research is focused on viral encephalitis of the eastern equine type, a sporadic illness observed in horses in the mid-Atlantic and New England states for several years.
• The disease was known to have affected pheasants in Pennsylvania, but had not been recorded in horses within the state until this case.

Case History

• The affected horse in the presented case was a 3-year-old bay gelding stationed in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, around 15 miles west of Philadelphia.
• The horse had participated in shows around Oxford, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1959.
• Details about the horse’s first dose of encephalomyelitis vaccine, given by one of the authors, are hinted at but not elaborated on in the given abstract.

Clinical Diagnosis

• Based on clinical signs, the horse was diagnosed with infectious encephalitis.
• The diagnosis was confirmed upon laboratory testing, thereby officially reporting the arrival of the eastern equine type viral encephalitis in horses within Pennsylvania.