EEE virus returns to Whiting

The Vermont Department of Health has detected the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus in mosquitoes collected from the Town of Whiting, according to an announcement on Aug. 22. The virus turned up in batches gathered from the swamps on Aug. 19. It is the first time this year that the virus was found in the area. Back in June, EEE showed up in mosquitoes collected from Grand Isle, in the northern portion of Lake Champlain.

While the EEE-carrying mosquito prefers to feed on birds, EEE can be transmitted to humans and farm animals through mosquito bites. No human or animal cases of the disease have been reported so far this year. Residents are cautioned to reduce their risk of mosquito bites and to vaccinate their horses and camelids (llamas, alpacas) against the virus.

"EEE can be a very serious disease and, although the risk of getting infected is low, it is not zero," said Erica Berl, infectious disease epidemiologist with the state Health Department. "No matter where you live, enjoy the outdoors but take precautions to fight the bite."

EEE and West Nile Virus are dangerous mosquito-borne illnesses tracked by the Department of Health. West Nile Virus was detected in mosquitoes collected from St. Albans in early August. The first known cases of EEE infection in the state occurred in 2011, when EEE was found to have caused the deaths of emus on a farm in Brandon. The first human cases of EEE in Vermont were noted in the late summer of 2012 in the Brandon area. No human cases were reported in 2013, though EEE turned up in mosquito samples and the disease did cause the deaths of two horses in Franklin County.

The state has produced the flyer below with steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of infection.

EEE shows up far from Whiting swamp

Beginning to get the feeling that the EEE virus can 
be found wherever you take the time to look for it?

The State Department of Health announced in the middle of last week that a horse in Highgate, VT, was euthanized (on Aug. 30) after becoming ill from Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). The health department's press release indicated, "This is evidence the mosquitoes in the area carry the virus."

This should not be a surprise. The state has documented the presence of EEE antibodies in deer and moose collected from all over Vermont, revealing that those animals had been exposed to but fought off the virus (probably recently, but no one seems to know how long the antibodies linger). However, state efforts to track the EEE virus and combat it (through aerial spraying of insecticides) have been concentrated in the area of the Whiting swamp in portions of Addison and Rutland counties. This seems designed in large part to quiet fears, because two area residents died in 2012 after contracting EEE.

The health department acknowledges, "Active mosquito surveillance is limited to those parts of Addison and Rutland counties and much more limited surveillance in parts of Franklin and Chittenden counties, so it's possible that EEE and West Nile virus are present in other parts of the state."

Highgate, sitting on the border with Canada, is almost as far as one can get from the Whiting swamp and still remain in the State of Vermont. (I shouldn't have to point out, but will, that the international border does not include mosquito netting, so EEE likely will be found in Canada too.)

It may be time for the state to put away the bug spray and launch a more comprehensive study of EEE in Vermont. It would be nice to know if this virus is a new threat to human health or if we actually have existed along with it every late summer for decades but only recently acquired the expertise to identify it.

WCAX reports on mosquito spraying

Last night's WCAX broadcast on the aerial mosquito spraying over swampy areas of Whiting.

 WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

Personal note: I am glad that the EEE threat is getting attention from state government. It is a subject that requires careful research. But I cannot help but feel that the spraying program is little more than an elaborate and expensive pacifier.

EEE does not originate with the mosquitoes. A certain type of bird-loving mosquito appears to pick it up from infected birds and then deliver it to other birds. But birds cannot carry it for long without dying. No one seems to know where the EEE resides over the wintertime, when there are no mosquitoes to move it around and the time is long enough for infected animals to pass away. In back-to-back years, EEE has merely popped up in the Whiting-area swamp in August, with no idea of the path it took into the swamp and no idea if it traveled beyond the swamp.

I also have not heard whether EEE has been found to be transmitted by other types of mosquitoes, such as those that directly bother humans, though that hypothetical "secondary vector" has been targeted by the CDC. (We know that one of last year's victims lived on a farm that raised large birds especially susceptible to EEE.)

It appears from the available research that EEE may exist in some form apart from birds and the feared type of mosquitoes. (For all we know, we humans may be the over-winter carriers!) Until we have the answers, periodically reducing the mosquito population through spraying may make people feel better about the threat, but it may not really be addressing the threat at all.

Mosquito spraying plan

UPDATE (8/22 4:36pm) We had been told that rain could cause postponement of the mosquito spraying, but Health Department just tweeted: "Weather conditions are favorable for... targeted mosquito spraying tonight. Will tweet progress from start to finish."
 WCAX interviews Dr. Harry Chen of the Vermont Department of Health:
  WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

Aerial mosquito-spraying announced

The Vermont Department of Health has announced that it will conduct aerial insecticide spraying August 22 and 27 of a swampy area of Whiting in an effort to combat the spread of deadly mosquito-borne Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

Spraying of a low concentration of Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin) will be performed within a two-mile radius centered round the swampy area north of Stickney Road in Whiting. The activity is scheduled to begin at dusk each evening and continue to about 11 p.m. The spraying may be postponed in case of rain.

EEE was detected for the first time in Vermont last year. Two people became ill with the virus and later died. The health department has stepped up testing of mosquito pools in certain areas of the state this year. No EEE was detected through the early summer.

Charts shows results of state mosquito testing in 2013.

That changed with testing of a mosquito pool collected from the Whiting area on Aug. 1. EEE turned up in test results, and the health department warned residents to take reasonable precautions against mosquito bites, including wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts outdoors during times of mosquito activity and using insect repellants.

Today the health department announced that four more mosquito pools from the area, collected on Aug. 10 and 12, have tested positive for EEE. The virus has not been detected in humans or animals so far this year.

"These newest detections only intensify our recommendations to Vermonters to fight the bite, no matter where you live," Health Commissioner Harry Chen said. "We can't kill every mosquito, but targeted spraying may knock back the local population of mosquitoes that are carrying the EEE virus.

"Spraying could reduce risk of infection," he explained, "but it's still important that we all take precautions against mosquito bites."

State health officials believe EEE is present in other parts of the state, but it has so far been positively identified only in mosquito pool tests from southern Addison and northern Rutland counties. Testing is being concentrated in in certain areas of the state (See map).

Mosquito testing: So far so good

Vermont authorities have stepped up testing in targeted areas of the state in an effort to hinder the spread of deadly mosquito-borne Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile viruses. The Whiting-Brandon area is a particular concern because EEE was detected in mosquitoes there last year and found its way to human victims. Early testing results announced this week came back negative for the viruses, according to a report by Lucia Suarez of the Rutland Herald.

When announcing the test results, state epidemiologist Erica Berl said, "The Brandon-Whiting swamp areas are moderate risk based on the evidence from last year." Risk levels have been assigned to regions of the state and testing resources will be allocated based upon the perceived risk. Most of Vermont falls into a baseline risk level, in which no reports of mosquito-borne illness in humans or animals have been received. Low-risk areas include those where virus-carrying mosquitoes have been detected within the past two years but no illnesses in humans or animals have been reported.

Current state plans call for consideration of insecticide spraying whenever repeated tests show mosquito-borne viruses in a region or the viruses turn up in humans or animals. "There is not a lot of information," Berl admitted. "We can't spray until we have a good educated guess that it will do something."

Last year, two people - residents of Brandon and Sudbury - died after becoming infected with the EEE virus. After the human infections were reported, the state organized aerial spraying of regions of the Whiting swamp.

Information on mosquito-borne illnesses can be obtained through the Vermont Department of Health website.

Health Dept. conducts EEE blood tests

The Vermont Department of Health seeks volunteers in Whiting, Brandon and Sudbury for a blood-testing study into the life-threatening mosquito-borne disease called Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). In the study, blood samples from area residents will be checked for antibodies produced through contact with the EEE virus. Health officials hope to gain a better understanding of the community's exposure to the virus. (See press release.)

EEE appears to be transmitted from bird populations to mammals, such as horses and humans, through the activity of the culiseta melanura mosquito and possibly other mosquitoes. There are few reliable statistics for the human exposure to the virus. Only a handful of people, who exhibit extreme symptoms, are known to infected each year. It is believed that many others are exposed to the virus but suffer slight or no noticeable symptoms. 

Last year, when EEE was detected in mosquito testing in swampy areas of Whiting, two area residents died from EEE. Equine livestock is typically vaccinated against the disease. There is no vaccination for humans.

Three clinics are scheduled in the area to draw small blood samples from volunteer adults:

• April 23, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Brandon Senior Center, 1591 Forest Dale Road.
• May 14, noon to 7 p.m., Sudbury Town Hall.
• May 29, noon to 7 p.m., Whiting Town Hall.

Volunteers must be age 12 and older and must have lived at their current residence in one of the three towns since June 1, 2012. No advance sign-up is required. All results will be kept confidential. Participants will remain anonymous and will not be notified if EEE virus antibodies, indicative of exposure to the virus, are found. No other testing will be performed on the blood samples.

Related stories:

EEE, mosquito-control meetings this week (Nov. 25, 2012)

State officials visit for discussion of EEE, mosquitoes (Nov. 16, 2012)

Mosquito control, EEE meetings in area (Nov. 9, 2012)

More aerial mosquito-spraying tonight (Sept. 7, 2012)

Mosquito spraying tonight (Sept. 6, 2012)

Dick Breen, 87, educator, of Brandon (Sept. 5, 2012)

Aerial mosquito spraying map released (Sept. 5, 2012)

One dead of EEE, mosquito spraying to begin (Sept. 5, 2012)

Mosquito-spraying discussion in Brandon (Sept. 3, 2012)

Two area residents hospitalized with EEE (Sept. 2, 2012)

West Nile virus found locally (Aug. 25, 2012)

EEE, mosquito-control meetings this week

The culiseta melanura mosquito
is linked to the spread of EEE.

Officials from the Vermont Health Department and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture will meet with area residents twice this week to discuss deadly mosquito-born illnesses, such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, as well as state and regional mosquito-control measures. The first such informational meeting was held at Whiting Town Hall on Nov. 15. (Click here for a summary of the discussion.) This week, the panel moves on to Brandon and Sudbury:

• Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7-9 p.m.
• Sudbury Town Hall in Sudbury, Thursday, Nov. 29, 7-9 p.m.

State officials visit for discussion of EEE, mosquitoes

About 60 people crowded into Whiting's Town Hall last night for a public meeting on the mosquito-transmitted disease Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Information was provided by a panel of state officials, including Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen, entomologist Alan Graham of the state agriculture agency, and epidemiologists Erica Berl and Patsy Kelso.

Alan Graham, entomologist with the
Vermont agriculture agency, speaks to
Whiting residents last night.

The panel had a request of Whiting residents: a bit of their blood. "We're looking to test about 200 to 300 people from each impacted town," explained Berl (perhaps unaware that the entire population of Whiting is around 400). Vermont has acquired approval from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test the blood of human residents in area towns for the presence of EEE antibodies. Those antibodies would show that individuals had been exposed to the EEE disease without exhibiting its life-threatening symptoms. The Vermont Department of Health is working with the Town of Whiting to set up a voluntary and anonymous blood testing program, with blood draws possibly scheduled to coincide with annual Town Meeting in March.

Ms. Berl noted that residents would not be informed of the results of the tests on their blood and nothing other than EEE antibodies would be tested. "It would be a truly selfless act," she said.

Only a handful of EEE cases are known to exist in humans each year. (Click here for CDC information on EEE.) Severe EEE infections can be fatal. Two residents of this region - an 87-year-old man in Brandon and a 49-year-old man in Sudbury - died from the disease in the past year. (The Brandon victim, former educator Dick Breen, experienced an EEE outbreak the previous year among his flock of emus, which left many of the large birds dead.) However, health authorities believe the severe infections occur only in a small percentage of those humans bitten by EEE-carrying mosquitoes. Many others may be bitten and have no symptoms or very mild symptoms. The blood testing program is expected to provide better numbers for gauging the extent of EEE exposure in humans and the rate of severe infections in that population.

The state officials discussed mosquito-monitoring efforts, lab testing done on trapped mosquitoes and blood drawn from deer and moose felled by hunters around the state, as well as the aerial spraying of Anvil (Sumithrin) insecticide that was performed in the Whiting-Brandon-Leicester area in early September after the state discovered its first-ever human cases of EEE.

According to Mr. Graham, the aerial spraying resulted in a dramatic reduction of overall mosquito populations in the area, but Mr. Graham was unable to provide specific data on the targeted culiseta melanura mosquitoes known to spread the EEE virus through interaction with infected birds.

Some Whiting residents expressed appreciation for the aerial spraying efforts as well as interest in aligning Whiting with regional "mosquito districts," such as the Brandon, Leicester, Salisbury and Goshen Insect Control District, which supervise mosquito control efforts. Other residents were concerned about the costs and side effects of pesticide application. Town Selectboard Chair Ellen Kurrelmeyer asked state officials if it was necessary to join or create a district in order to engage in townwide mosquito control and said she would check into the town's authority and insurance for performing its own control measures.

A few Whiting residents complained that the state was not more active after learning of the EEE outbreak at an emu farm in Brandon in 2011. The implication was that additional steps could have been taken to avoid the infections that cost two people their lives. Dr. Chen said he also questions whether more could have been done. But he explained that ground-based spraying of mosquitoes was performed after that outbreak and a program of monitoring for EEE in regional mosquito populations was put in place. One resident feared that the rare emus were somehow involved in transmitting the disease. The panel was unanimous in its opposition, noting that emus originated in areas where EEE is entirely unknown. As birds, they are preferred as targets by the disease-carrying mosquitoes, but they do not retain the virus for very long. EEE, Ms. Berl explained, exists in birds for a very short time, either vanishing after that time or resulting in the death of the bird.

Resident Paul Quesnel noted the some government agencies seemed to be at cross-purposes over the mosquito issue and local taxpayers looked to be caught picking up the cost of their conflicting programs. He referred to a USDA program under which easements are purchased "at one thousand or two thousand dollars an acre" to take active farmland out of service and turn it into restored wetlands. The increased wetlands result in an increase in mosquito populations. Mr. Quesnel noted that the government-sponsored growth of the wetlands also was causing an increase in water levels in adjacent active farmland and reducing crop yields from those areas.

Mr. Graham noted that, while the new restored wetlands certainly were a source of mosquitoes, they were probably not a source for the mosquitoes most related to the spread of the EEE virus. The culiseta melanura typically resides in underground "crypts" within acidic hardwood swamps that feature, for example, mature maple trees. The adult mosquitoes of this breed travel into small channels in the root mat of the trees to lay their eggs in the protected watery environments within. The mosquitoes, he said, overwinter as larvae.

These unusual tendencies of the culiseta melanura mosquito create control problems. Mr. Graham noted that mosquito larvicide, such as the naturally occurring bacteria bacillus thuringiensis (BT), would be highly effective against the moquito larvae if it could be delivered to where the larvae reside and grow. The mosquitoes' use of underground crypts makes that virtually impossible. As a result, he said, control measures must be directed against the adult mosquito population.

Ms. Berl explained that ground spraying against mosquitoes, such as performed by the BLSG District, may not be effective in more rural communities, like Whiting. That spraying is done from trucks driving along the roads. There are many areas in Whiting that could not be reached by truck spraying, making aerial spraying for mosquitoes the only workable option. Mr. Graham added that the mosquito populations that tested positive for the EEE virus last summer were far from any roads.

Panelists were asked about whether a human vaccine for EEE existed or could be created. While a vaccine for farm livestock has been in use for many years, Dr. Chen said no vaccine has ever been created for humans. He said he did not anticipate any vaccine would be created, as there are very few human cases of EEE and vaccine side effects would be more widespread than its benefits.

The panel acknowledged that much about the EEE virus remains a mystery. There is no explanation as to why the virus seems to fluctuate from year to year. "Just because we had it here this year doesn't mean it will be back next year," Mr. Graham said. The virus previously has exhibited a pattern of taking a decade off between outbreaks. Also a puzzle is what becomes of the virus during the winter and how so much of the deer and moose population across the state - even in areas where EEE mosquitoes are completely unknown - came to possess antibodies for EEE, indicating exposure to the virus at some time in the past. (Officials explained that there is no EEE risk to humans involved with the consumption of deer meat.) No one could say for certain whether the presence of EEE antibodies in a person's blood provided any meaningful protection against becoming ill with EEE at some time in the future. Ms. Kelso said some lasting protection is associated with antibodies related to West Nile Virus, another mosquito-borne illness, and EEE could be similar, but there is no useful data on that issue.

The panel is scheduled to hold similar meetings in Brandon and Sudbury at the end of this month. The Brandon meeting is set for Otter Valley Union High School, 7-9 p.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The Sudbury meeting will be held at the Town Hall, 7-9 p.m., on Thursday, Nov. 29.

Mosquito control, EEE meetings in area

Experts from the Vermont Department of Health and the Agency of Agriculture will discuss Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and mosquito control efforts at three upcoming meetings in the Whiting area. The first meeting will be held at the Whiting Town Hall, 6-8 p.m., on Thursday, Nov. 15. (Update: For a report on this meeting, click here.)

The second will be at Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon, 7-9 p.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The final meeting will be at Sudbury Town Hall, 7-9 p.m., on Thursday, Nov. 29.

EEE and West Nile virus are potentially deadly diseases transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes. EEE was detected in Whiting and Brandon for the first time ever this past summer. Two people died after being diagnosed with EEE.

State officials will review surveillance data and efforts taken to control mosquitoes in 2012 and will discuss plans for tracking and control of illness-carrying mosquitoes in 2013.

More aerial mosquito-spraying tonight

We were buzzed a few times by planes yesterday (Thursday) evening, as the Vermont Department of Health began its aerial spraying of mosquitoes in the Whiting-Brandon area. However, the spraying program could not be completed because of unfavorable weather conditions, including lightning and poor visibility. The Health Department plans to complete the spraying tonight (Friday), according to a press release on its website.

The Brandon block shown on the aerial spraying map (below) will be sprayed in its entirety. The Whiting block along Stickney Road and south will also be sprayed. The spraying will take place between 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Residents should take a few precautions against exposure to the Anvil insecticide that is being used. Stay indoors with windows and doors closed and air conditioners off during the spraying period and for at least a half hour afterward. Bring in laundry, toys, pet food and drinking bowls, and consider picking ripe fruits and vegetables before the spraying starts.

Two area residents were recently diagnosed with a mosquito-borne illness known as Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). Both were hospitalized. One of the patients died five days after his diagnosis. The Department of Health recently discovered EEE and West Nile virus in mosquito pools in Whiting.

Other blog posts on this topic:

• Mosquito spraying tonight (collection of Health Department documents) (Sept. 6)
• Dick Breen, 87, educator, of Brandon (Sept. 5)
• Aerial mosquito spraying map released (Sept. 5)
• One dead of EEE, mosquito spraying to begin (Sept. 5)
• Mosquito-spraying discussion in Brandon (Sept. 3)
• Two area residents hospitalized with EEE (Sept. 2)
• West Nile virus found locally (Aug. 25) 

Mosquito spraying tonight

Here is a collection of documents disseminated by the Vermont Department of Health regarding the mosquito spraying in the Whiting-Brandon area tonight (Thursday) between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Additional information is available through the Health Department website.

 

Dick Breen, 87, educator, of Brandon

State health officials have identified the first Vermont resident to die from Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) as retired educator Dick Breen, 87, of Brandon, WCAX-TV reported.. Breen was longtime director of the Vermont Principals Association. He lived on an emu farm in Brandon that experienced a serious outbreak of EEE among its livestock last September. Nineteen of the birds died from the virus.

Breen was diagnosed with the virus last Thursday. He was hospitalized. He died at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington on Tuesday.

The Vermont Department of Health has scheduled an aerial insecticide spraying in the Whiting-Brandon area to combat the mosquito populations that transmit the EEE and West Nile viruses.

Aerial mosquito spraying map released

The Vermont Department of Health has released a map of tomorrow night's aerial mosquito spraying areas in Whiting, Cornwall, Shoreham, Brandon, Leicester and Salisbury. The spraying is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

It isn't the most useful map in the world, but I'm guessing that aerial mosquito spraying is not a terribly precise science anyway. (In Whiting, the spraying will be performed across the entire width of the town from the Cornwall line southward nearly to the village. Spraying will also be done in adjoining areas of Shoreham, including Wooster Road, Cutting Hill Road and Webster Road; Cornwall, including Wooster Road, Parkhill Road, southern portions of Route 30, Delong Road, Galvin Road and Swamp Road; and Salisbury, including small sections near Creek Road and Hubbard Road to the west of Dewey Road.)

So, if you are clearly in the purple boxes or really anywhere near them, you should take a few precautions against exposure to the Anvil insecticide that is being used. Stay indoors with windows and doors closed and air conditioners off during the spraying period and for at least a half hour afterward. Bring in laundry, toys, pet food and drinking bowls, and consider picking ripe fruits and vegetables before the spraying starts.

The Health Department has provided information on Anvil here.

Two people have been diagnosed with a mosquito-borne illness called Eastern Equine Encephalitis. One of the patients has died. Vermont had previously seen EEE infections in livestock but never in human in the state. The discovery of EEE and West Nile viruses in mosquito pools in Whiting in late August prompted Health Department action. A public meeting on the proposed aerial spraying of insecticides was held in Brandon last night.

One dead of EEE, mosquito spraying to begin

The Vermont Health Department says one of two patients in the state diagnosed with Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has died, according to reports in the Burlington Free Press and the Rutland Herald. Additional details about the patient were not made available. EEE and West Nile are two deadly viruses spread to humans by mosquito bites.

The Health Department plans to begin aerial spraying of insecticides in the Brandon-Whiting area tomorrow (Thursday) night. Ground spraying has already begin.

The aerial spraying of Anvil insecticide (Sumithrin) will be conducted between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. in two four-mile-by-four-mile squares, according to the Rutland Herald. One of the squares will cross Route 30 between Cornwall and Whiting (centered on Stickney Road). The other will be along nearly all of Grove Street in Leicester and Brandon.

The Health Department advises residents to stay indoors during the spraying and for about 30 minutes afterward. Doors and windows should be closed and air conditioners should be turned off during that period. If Anvil spray comes in contact with eyes, rinse immediately with water. Exposed skin should be washed. Exposed clothing should be washed separately from other clothing. Pet food and water bowls should be brought indoors.

Mosquito-spraying discussion in Brandon

Officials with the Vermont Health Department will discuss efforts to control the mosquito population in the region during a meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow night (Tuesday) at the Brandon Town Hall, according to a report by WCAX-TV.
The department plans to begin aerial spraying of insecticides as early as Wednesday evening in response to two diagnosed human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). The aerial spraying would be centered on the Whiting-Brandon area.
EEE and West Nile virus were detected in mosquito pools in Whiting. Ground spraying is already being performed by the Brandon, Leicester, Salisbury, Goshen Mosquito District.

Two area residents hospitalized with EEE

There are now at least two human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in area hospitals. According to a story in the Burlington Free Press this morning, two people from the Addison and Rutland County area are being treated after the presence of the EEE virus was confirmed.
About a week earlier, as reported here, West Nile virus and EEE virus was detected by Vermont health officials at two mosquito pools in our town of Whiting. Residents were warned to take precautions against mosquito bites.

The state is now considering aerial spraying of insecticides over the area where EEE was found. An aerial spraying program could begin as early as next week, weather permitting.
Health Commissioner Harry Chen released a statement saying, "The severe form of EEE is a terrible disease, and we want to take every reasonable action to prevent people from becoming infected." Chen noted that the viruses could continue to spread through mosquito bites until the first freeze. While insecticides should reduce the risk, Chen warned residents to continue to take personal precautions against mosquito bites.
The EEE illness can take two forms. A person may experience chills, fever, pain in muscles and joints for up to two weeks. In more severe cases, the virus reaches the central nervous system, causing fever, headaches, mood changes and possibly convulsions and coma. There is no vaccine for humans.
Officials suggest avoiding outdoor activity at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active, covering arms and legs while outdoors, using insect repellant, and eliminating the standing water where mosquitoes breed.

West Nile virus found locally

Our little town of Whiting made the regional news yesterday, as the Vermont Health Department announced that West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus were detected in town mosquito pools.

Four mosquito pools were tested in Whiting. Three tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis. The fourth tested positive for West Nile virus. Mosquitoes can transmit the diseases to people and animals. The health department does not perform exhaustive statewide testing of mosquitoes but views the Whiting test results as evidence that Vermont residents should keep the health issues in mind.

"The positive samples are the first evidence of EEE and West Nile virus in Vermont this year," said State Epidemiologist Patsy Kelso. "It is a good reminder these viruses are circulating in Vermont and people should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites."

The health department recommends the following precautions:

• Wearing long sleeves and long pants.
• Avoiding outdoor activities at dusk and dawn.
• Taking measures to reduce standing water in which mosquitoes breed.
• Using insect repellents.
• Maintaining screens on home windows and doors.

Most people bitten by a West Nile virus-carrying mosquito will experience no symptoms. Up to 20 percent of people infected with the virus may experience fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting. A much smaller percentage will develop life-threatening illnesses.

Eastern Equine Encephalitis is much more rare in humans. As with West Nile, most infected people have no symptoms. However, several cases of serious to severe EEE infection occur in the U.S. each year, generally in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states. In severe cases, the illness can lead to swelling of the brain. The mortality rate of severe infections is as high as 33%. The disease is extremely dangerous to horses, where its mortality rates are 70% or higher. There is no cure for EEE. Many horses in eastern and southern states are routinely vaccinated against the virus.

These viruses are said to originate in bird populations. While direct bird-to-human transmission is not impossible, mosquitoes are generally responsible for moving it.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, mosquitoes carry the highest amounts of these viruses in the early fall, after a summer of interaction with birds.

Thirteen West Nile virus cases have been reported in neighboring New York State so far this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Two older people have died of the disease. New York health officials have detected West Nile in 714 mosquito pools across the state. None to date have been found to be infected with EEE. Massachusetts has reported high levels of EEE-infected mosquitos - the highest number in 30 years. Several days ago, CNN reported that the U.S. is experiencing the worst West Nile virus outbreak ever seen. At that point, 38 states had reported human infections. A total of 1,118 people had been infected with 44 related deaths reported.