What does Eastern equine encephalitis do?
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is an extremely rare but serious and often fatal infection that causes encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. It is spread by the bite of a mosquito infected with EEE virus (EEEV). EEEV can also infect a wide range of animals including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Who is affected by EEE?
Persons over age 50 and under age 15 seem to be at greatest risk for developing severe disease when infected with EEEV. Overall, only about 4-5% of human EEEV infections result in EEE.
What happens when you get EEE?
Severe cases of EEEV infection include encephalitis (swelling of the brain) or meningitis (swelling of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord) and begin with the sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, and vomiting. The illness may then progress into disorientation, seizures, and coma.
How does Triple E affect the brain?
Once the virus is inside the body, it can replicate and travel in the bloodstream. In rare cases the virus crosses the blood-brain barrier and infects the brain, resulting in swelling of brain tissue, or encephalitis. The EEE virus is not contagious.
Should I worry about EEE?
After about one or two weeks, the symptoms resolve on their own without the need for medical attention. Still others with EEE are asymptomatic and won’t feel sick at all. Signs of a serious infection that can lead to encephalitis include vomiting, seizures, drowsiness, behavioral changes, and coma.
Can you recover from EEE?
There is no cure for EEE, and 3 of every 10 people who get the disease die from it. Doctors provide supportive treatment, lower the fever, and ease the pressure on the brain and spinal cord. Some people who survive this disease will be permanently disabled and only about half recover completely.
Should I be worried about EEE?
How do you know if you have EEE virus?
Signs and symptoms of neurologic disease include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes, drowsiness, and coma. In infants, neurologic disease often occurs soon after onset; in older children and adults, encephalitis may occur after several days of systemic illness.
How can EEE be prevented?
There is no vaccine to prevent EEE virus infection. The best way to prevent EEE is to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Use insect repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, treat clothing and gear, and take steps to control mosquitoes indoors and outdoors.
Does EEE go away?
How does Eastern equine encephalitis ( EEE ) affect humans?
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a viral, vector-borne disease that causes inflammation of the brain. Mosquitoes transmit the virus from infected birds to horses, humans, and other species. Although rare, the disease has a high mortality rate in horses and humans.
Can a horse get encephalitis from a bird?
The birds will carry the disease, but will do so asymptomatically. This means they will not suffer sequelae, i.e. consequences of the disease. When the disease is transferred to horses, the results can be fatal. The same when the disease is transferred to humans.
Who are the hosts of Eastern equine encephalomyelitis?
Eastern equine encephalitis is specifically a disease of horses, but has a wide host range, including humans, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, monkeys, dogs, cats, foxes, skunks, cattle, pigs, birds and mosquitoes. Clearly, the disease requires appropriate climatic conditions for mosquitoes to breed to maintain its life cycle.
How is EEE virus transmitted from horse to human?
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), also known as sleeping sickness, is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Wild birds are a natural reservoir for EEE virus, and mosquitoes that feed on these birds can transmit the virus to mammals, including horses and humans.
What does Eastern equine encephalitis virus mean?
Eastern equine encephalitis is a viral illness that is transmitted to people and horses through the bite of an infected mosquito. The virus is an alphavirus and is closely related to western equine encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses.
What are the symptoms of Triple E virus?
The people infected with Triple E shows symptoms like mild flu-like illness with fever, headache and sore throat. The case, in which disease affects the central nervous system, the symptoms include an abrupt high fever, severe headache and stiff neck, which can also lead to attacks and coma.
What are the symptoms of Triple E?
Symptoms of Triple E infections in humans include: Sudden headache, high fever, chills and vomiting, and typically develop in four to 10 days following the bite, according to the CDC . There is no specific treatment for the virus,…
What is Venezuelan equine encephalitis?
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus is a mosquito-borne viral pathogen that causes Venezuelan equine encephalitis or encephalomyelitis (VEE). VEE can affect all equine species, such as horses, donkeys, and zebras.