Summary

Description

The present report concerns the arboviruses of Eastern equine encephalitis EEE , Western equine encephalitis WEE, Venezuelan equine encephalitis VEE, and St. Louis encephalitis SLE. The first three, EEE, WEE, and VEE, are all viruses which are capable of causing morbidity and morbidity in equines and man. Vaccination of horses can be accomplished to all three viruses, but at present there are no vaccines for general use in people. It is known that deer and hogs can be infected with all three viruses but to the best of my knowledge, none of these viruses cause mortality in deer or hogs. The virus of SLE is normally found in birds and can cause illness in man. The role of mammals in the natural history of the virus is unknown, but many studies have found antibodies to the virus in wildlife species including deer. A total of 39 deer and 10 hogs were tested for antibodies to these agents. Positive reactions were detected in sera from four animals. Two deer from Monroe County reacted against VES, which is known to be endemic in that part of the state. One hog from Franklin County reacted against E2E, while a deer from the same area reacted to EEE, WEE, and VEE. Results have not been received for another 12 scrum samples submitted from Duval County deer.