OXFORD — The horses at the Oxford County Fair were running Wednesday night, and across the community it was mostly business as usual.

Last week, a horse in Oxford County was euthanized after contracting Eastern equine encephalitis, state officials said. Anybody who works with horses in Maine knows about EEE: In 2009, the disease resurfaced in the state and killed 15 horses.

“There are a lot of folks who are aware of this,” said Liselle Batt of Western Maine Horseshoeing in Andover. “We, as horse owners, think it’s not going to happen to us. And then it does.”

What there wasn’t in Oxford County on Wednesday was panic. At the fair, roughly 100 horses raced and another 40 were on display. If signs of an epidemic emerge, the fair people will take action pretty quickly, said Omer “Buddy” Burke, president of the Maine Amateur Driving Club, a group of harness enthusiasts.

“It wouldn’t be unusual for the race tracks and the fairs to start demanding health certificates,” Burke said.

He said certificates for horses can be obtained only if the animals have received the full range of vaccinations, which are vital in situations where large numbers of horses gather, such as at the tracks and the fairs.

“It spreads real quick,” Burke said. “The horses really suffer with it.”

The EEE virus is carried by mosquitoes, which pick it up from wild birds. According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the horse that was put down last week had been showing neurological symptoms of the disease. Further testing revealed EEE.

According to Burke, most serious horse enthusiasts bring their animals in for a round of vaccinations that protect against things such as West Nile virus, Eastern and Western encephalitis, tetanus and rabies.

Of course, it depends on what kind of horse owner you are. If you frequently trailer your horses out for show or events such as the county fair, you more likely get all of the vaccinations. Others who keep backyard horses in rural areas might settle for the basic vaccinations, including the one that protects against tetanus.

According to the Maine CDC, the horse euthanized last week had been vaccinated a year ago against both EEE and West Nile virus but had not received a recent booster.

The news release did not include the location of the infected horse within the county. Burke and several others said they had not heard in which town the horse was put down.

State veterinarian Dr. Michele Walsh told the Bangor Daily News that EEE is preventable in horses and advised getting a booster if more than six months have elapsed since the animal was vaccinated.

State officials said eight pools of mosquitoes have tested positive for EEE in York County this year. Also concerning is the fact that EEE can cause serious illness in humans if they are bitten by an infected mosquito. 

The virus can also affect specialty livestock such as llamas, alpacas, emus, ostriches and farm-raised birds such as quails and ducks.