EEE virus is the next mosquito-borne disease of concern

A mosquito-borne virus is making a comeback: Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE). Although it is not new, cases are extremely rare. Yet there have been more cases than usual in the United States this year. In severe cases, the disease can be fatal, and there is no cure or prevention for it. Diseases like EEE will become more common as the climate continues to warm.

What is EEE?

EEE has spread in the northeastern United States. The virus is spread by Mosquitoes but it is rarer and more deadly than the West Nile virus. “About 30% of people who contract severe Eastern equine encephalomyelitis die, and many survivors have persistent neurological problems,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention“I would definitely say New England and the Gulf Coast are the two areas in the U.S. where it has primarily occurred in the past,” David Hamer, a professor of global health and medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health, told The Hill“In Massachusetts, there have been hundreds of cases over a 70-year period,” Hamer added. “There may be no cases for a few years, and then another case or two comes along, although we think it may be a little more common.”