Here’s Everything We Know about the Lethal Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus
Original article from The Brink by , 2019
For the first time since 2013, eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus—a rare but often fatal mosquito-borne virus—has been found in Massachusetts. Since the beginning of August, five people have tested positive for the virus, and one woman from Bristol County has died from the illness. After the latest confirmed case on Thursday, state officials raised the risk level to critical in three towns and to high in three other towns. Although it is rare, EEE poses major health risks, as it can cause brain swelling. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it takes between 4 and 10 days to develop symptoms, which vary depending on a person’s age and other factors. About a third of all people infected with EEE die from the disease.
Symptoms, including fevers, chills, and fatigue, can manifest abruptly and are later accompanied by standout neurological problems “such as headache, cognitive changes, seizures, weakness, numbness, difficulty with coordination, or visual changes, among other signs,” explains Brigid Dwyer, a Boston University School of Medicine assistant professor of neurology and a Boston Medical Center rehabilitation neurologist, who has treated patients with complications resulting from mosquito-borne viruses, including EEE.