COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – With the first 2020 case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis diagnosed in a Clare County horse, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency says this highlights the need for both horse owners and Michigan residents to take safeguards against the disease.
E.E.E. is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes to both animals and people. iT is one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases in the U.S., with a 90-percent fatality rate among horses that become ill and a 33-percent fatality rate among humans.
Last year, Michigan experienced 50 cases of EEE in animals and a record of 10 cases in humans.
People can be infected with EEE from the bite of a mosquito carrying the virus. The disease is not spread by horse-to-horse or horse-to-human contact.
Signs of EEE in humans include the sudden onset of fever, chills, and body and joint aches.
EEE infection can develop into severe encephalitis, resulting in headache, disorientation, tremors, seizures, and paralysis. Permanent brain damage, coma, and death may also occur in some cases.
