EEE Virus: Northeastern towns in the US have tested positive
Vijayan Sankar (Author) Published Date : Oct 12, 2019 06:35 ISTHealth News
EEE Virus: Northeastern towns of division 1 of the US reported positive for life-threatening the EEE virus. Mosquitoes carry eastern equine encephalitis life-threatening viruses.
Hence many northeastern towns are warned to be safe from mosquito’s bites. In Connecticut alone, three of the four confirmed cases were reported dead. Though our immune system could kill the infection, one in twenty cases develops brain infection called Encephalitis, and the odds of survival are slim.
It is because it kills about a third of those affected, and the surviving others suffer from lifelong neurological damage.
EEE virus spreads from birds to humans by mosquitoes: Philip Armstrong, director of Mosquito Surveillance Program at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, confirms that EEE is a mosquito-borne virus.
Though it is a rare disease, this year, it is affecting the people like it never did in the past 50 years. He said that their team found vast numbers of a specific kind of mosquitoes that feed on birds.
But, when they feed on the migratory birds with the EEE virus and then on humans, the Encephalitis spreads like wildfire. That is what is happening now.
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With winter around the corner, they may be subsidized due to the non-survival of mosquitoes. But the virus can withstand winter and could cause more trouble next summer.
Symptoms for Encephalitis
- High fever
- Stiff neck
- Confusion
- Seizures
- Coma
- Death
Precautions for Encephalitis
- To be safe in the last weeks before winter the following precautions can be taken to be safe from Encephalitis
- Avoid going out in the evening time, which is the active time for the Encephalitis prone mosquitoes
- Covering the full body with full sleeves, socks, shoes whatever possible while going out in the evening or night time
- Applying mosquito repellent to the exposed parts during these times
Only one out of twenty people are affected by life-threatening Encephalitis, and they are ones with a weak immune system.
Hence apart from staying safe from mosquitoes, it is also pertinent to keep healthy with the proper immune systems to avoid such dangerous diseases like EEE Virus.