Lake Charles Vet says Horses Need Encephalitis Vaccination - Acadiana's Multi-Media News Station

A Lake Charles veterinarian says he has seen more than a dozen cases of Eastern equine encephalitis in the past three weeks - and the only horses that are still alive are the two that were vaccinated. 

Ted Shope of South Bayou Animal Hospital reported that horses have died of the disease in Creole, Grand Cheiner, Reeves, south Lake Charles and eastern Jefferson Davis Parish. 

He says horse owners should make sure their animals are vaccinated for mosquito-borne diseases, including West Nile and Eastern equine encephalitis.

State Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain made the same recommendation in mid-July. 

Shope recommends a combination vaccine which protects horses against West Nile, Eastern equine encephalitis and Western encephalitis.