Often fatal, always damaging, EEE virus is rare in people

Talk about it

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eastern equine encephalitis virus is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected by feeding on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes will then occasionally feed on horses, humans and other mammals. Several species of mosquitoes can become infected with the virus. EEEV is not spread person-to-person, from people to animals or from animals to people.

It is a rare illness in humans, and only about a dozen cases are reported in the U.S. each year. Most cases occur in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states.

The disease has been found in Minnesota horses only once, in 2001, and has never been confirmed in people. Most of the 2001 horse cases occurred near tamarack bogs or hardwood swamps, the types of wetlands that produce Cs. melanura mosquitoes that feed on birds and can spread the disease.

Most persons infected with EEEV have no apparent illness. Severe cases of EEEV (involving encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain) begin with the sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills and vomiting. The illness may then progress into disorientation, seizures, coma and death.

EEEV is one of the most fatal mosquito-transmitted diseases in the nation, with between 50 percent and 80 percent of its victims dying. Among those that survive, nearly all have significant brain damage. There is no specific treatment for EEEV; care is based on symptoms.

You can reduce your risk of being infected with EEEV by using insect repellent, wearing protective clothing and staying indoors while mosquitoes are most active, namely just before and after sunset. The Minnesota Department of Health also suggests using a mosquito repellent with DEET.

Tags: news, animals, health, outdoors, dnr, minnesota