A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Sat 4 Sep 2010
Source: Syracuse.com, The Post-Standard report [edited]
An adult resident of Onondaga County has been diagnosed with eastern
equine encephalitis, Onondaga County Health Commissioner Cynthia D
Morrow said today [4 Sep 2010]. The Onondaga County Health Department
was notified of the diagnosis by the state, the commissioner said in
a press release. The release gave no information about the infected
resident, except to say that the infected person is hospitalized and
had spent significant time in an area previously known to have
eastern equine encephalitis [virus] activity.
Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, is a rare viral infection. There
are only 5-10 cases of EEE reported a year nationwide, Murrow said.
The virus is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. The
virus can cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.
The county health department said the initial symptoms, which begin 4
to 10 days after the mosquito bite, can include fever, headache, and
vomiting. Untreated, the illness can progress to altered mental
status, confusion, coma, and death.
"People need to use protection. They need to use insect repellent,"
Murrow said. The health department urges people to wear shoes, socks,
long pants, and long-sleeve shirts when outside for a long period of
time. People should avoid being outside during mosquito feeding times
at dawn and sunset. The use of insect repellent is also encouraged.
The hotbeds of EEE [virus] bearing mosquitoes are in the Cicero, Toad
Harbor, and South Bay swamps near Oneida Lake, Murrow said. 4
mosquito pools collected last week [week ending 27 Aug 2010] on
Island Road tested positive for EEE [virus], according to the
Onondaga County Health Department. Mosquitoes in 2 of the pools are
human biters while mosquitoes in the other 2 pools are primarily bird biters.
[Byline: Robert A Baker]
--
Communicated by:
Ronan Kelly
[ProMED-mail thanks Ronan Kelly for sending in this report. The 1st
equine case was reported on 27 Aug 2010 in neighboring Oswego county
(see ProMED-mail archive no. 20100827.3045), providing a clear
indication that EEE virus transmission was going on in the general
area. Identification of EEE virus in human-biting mosquitoes suggest
that they may be the "bridge" vectors that carry the virus from the
bird virus maintenance or amplification cycle to humans and horses,
which are "dead end" virus hosts.
Unlike the vaccine for equine animals, there is no commercially
available EEE virus vaccine for human use, so avoidance of mosquito
bites is the only preventive measure people can take.
Additional public health information about EEE from the New York
State Department of Health can be accessed at
A map showing the location of Onondaga County in central New York
State can be accessed at
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map showing the location of New
York State in eastern USA can be accessed at
[see also:
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (26): (MI, FL) equine, human 20100901.3115
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (25): (MA) human 20100830.3089
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (24): (NY, MI) equine, cervid 20100827.3045
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (23): (MI) 20100824.2975
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (22): (VA, MA) 20100820.2911
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (21): (GA) equine 20100819.2893
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (20): (FL), fatal 20100818.2871
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (19): (MI) equine, human susp 20100817.2850
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (18): (MA) equine, human 20100816.2836
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (17): (FL) equine 20100815.2813
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (16): (MI) 20100814.2790
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (15): (FL) sentinel avian 20100810.2728
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (14): (FL), equine, sentinel avian
20100807.2691
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (13) (FL, MA) 20100806.2675
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (12): (MA) 20100803.2620
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (11): (FL) fatal, human, equine 20100731.2569
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (10): (MA, MI) 20100728.2529
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (09): (FL) fatal 20100723.2469
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (08): (LA) 20100716.2374
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (07): (FL) 20100715.2363
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (06): (FL, GA) 20100710.2312
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (05): (FL) 20100708.2274
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (04): (FL) 20100630.2178
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (03): (FL) 20100627.2146
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (02): (FL) sentinel avian 20100623.2101
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA: (FL) 20100527.1755]
...................................dk/ty/mj/dk
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