Mosquitoes test positive for possibly fatal virus in Connecticut

‘It is important to remember that we do not expect to see a lot of mosquito activity in the month of October,’ public health commissioner says

Mosquitoes in Connecticut have tested positive for a rare, possibly fatal virus called Eastern Equine Encephalitis for the first time this year, state health officials have said.

The state’s Department of Public health announced on Saturday that mosquitoes that were caught in the Pachaug State Forest in Voluntown tested positive for the virus on 23 September.

In a press release, the department said it was “advising residents in southeastern Connecticut to protect themselves and their children from mosquitoes to reduce the chance of contracting” the virus.

The tests by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station found that infected mosquitoes were of species that bite both mammals and birds.

“The mosquitoes were Culiseta melanura, a predominately bird-biting species, and Ochlerotatus canadensis, a mammal-biting species. Connecticut residents are reminded to protect themselves from mosquito bites and mosquito-borne diseases,” the department of public health said.

“We encourage residents of southeastern Connecticut to take simple measures such as wearing mosquito repellent and covering bare skin, especially during dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active,” DPH Commissioner Dr Manisha Juthani said in a statement. “While the detection of EEE virus is of concern, it is important to remember that we do not expect to see a lot of mosquito activity in the month of October.”

The virus leads to severe brain inflammation in two per cent of adults and six per cent of children, CBS News reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus can usually be found in between five and ten people a year. No human cases have been reported so far this year.

The virus is rare in humans but the mortality rate is between 25 and 50 per cent and many of those who survive the ordeal face neurological problems.

“Mosquitoes can only acquire the virus by feeding on infected wild birds,” the Connecticut Department of Public Health said, adding that the virus is usually “found only in species of mosquitoes which feed on birds, but occasionally the virus can be passed on to other mosquito species known to bite people and horses”. 

“The virus cannot be passed from person to person or from horses to humans,” they said but warned that the “risk of mosquito-transmitted diseases such as EEE virus usually increases through the late summer and early fall. Mosquitoes are active until the first heavy frost”.

Symptoms for Eastern Equine Encephalitis include “high fever, headache, stiff neck, and decreased consciousness”.

The department also said that no vaccine or “specific antiviral treatment” is available.