Second Onslow County horse dies from Eastern Equine Encephalitis

Onslow County says another horse has died from Eastern Equine Encephalitis, also known at EEE.

The five-year-old horse was put down Tuesday after it became unresponsive. It belonged to the same owner as the previous EEE horse fatality, according to a county news release.

In that case, a 13-year-old horse died near Hubert on July 10th after authorities believed it was bitten by a mosquito carrying the deadly virus. The two deaths happened at the same horse stables, according to authorities.

The deaths are the only ones so far this year in North Carolina. There have been no human cases of EEE in Onslow County, while a third EEE case was earlier reported in Richmond County.

Both Jacksonville and Onslow County have stepped up their mosquito spraying efforts because of the EEE cases.