Eastern Encephalitis in White Pekin Ducklings on Long Island

Abstract

QUINE encephalomyelitis was first described in the United States in the fall of 1912 by Udall.45 The eastern type was differentiated by Ten Broeck and Merrill in 1933. Sporadic outbreaks of the eastern type have occurred east of the Appalachian mountains since that time. Many of these outbreaks have been reported in the states bordering New York (Connecticut,30,44 Pennsylvania6 and New Jersey3'4'56'7'8)). However, it was not until October 1952 that a case was reported in New York state, when Dr. C. I. Angstrom of the Kingston Regional Poultry Laboratory reported the disease in Orange county pheasants.2 Virus isolation from these pheasants was reported by Beaudette7 in 1954. Since that time, no further cases have been reported in New York state in pheasants or any other species of animal. Clinical human cases of the disease have never been recorded in New York. Although eastern equine encephalomyelitis was first described in horses,45 the wide host range renders the term equine inappropriate and the name eastern encephalitis (EE) has been adopted by virologists and will be used in this paper. The extent of the host range is indicated by the fact that the following species have been experimentally or naturally in-