The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced this week it will spray a portion of a forest in eastern Connecticut to help combat the spread of the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE).
The virus, which rarely infects people, recently killed a New Hampshire resident.
In Connecticut, there have been no reported cases of EEE in humans this season, but the EEE risk-level in the eastern part of the state remains elevated, according to DEEP. Out of “an abundance of caution,” the agency says it will spray near Mount Misery in Pachaug State Forest on the evening of Aug. 29. The forest is located in Griswold, Plainfield and Voluntown.
State officials say EEE has been detected in mosquitoes in the Connecticut towns of Canterbury, Ledyard, North Stonington, Sterling and Voluntown.
Human cases of EEE have been reported in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey and New Hampshire.
Earlier in August, a white-tailed deer died from the virus in the Connecticut town of Lisbon.
There's no reason to panic, said Emily Reinhart, an assistant clinical professor of veterinary pathology at the University of Connecticut.
"It is very rare for people to be infected with that disease," she said. "It requires the right scenario where you have enough mosquitoes that have a really high amount of virus that they're carrying to be able to transmit to people."
But Reinhart said it's still important to take precautions.
"Try to limit when you're outside at peak mosquito times of day. So that'll be dusk and dawn," she said.
She also advises staying away from mosquito hot spots like marshes or wetlands and considering using bug spray and wearing clothing to protects skin from exposure to bites.
About a third of people who develop encephalitis from the virus die from the infection, and survivors can suffer lifelong mental and physical disabilities, experts say. There is no vaccine or antiviral treatment available for infections, which can cause flu-like symptoms and lead to severe neurological disease along with inflammation of the brain and membranes around the spinal cord.
“When it does cause an infection, it is very, very severe. Although it’s a very rare infection, we have no treatment for it,” said Dr. Richard Ellison, immunologist and infectious disease specialist at University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center. “Once someone gets it, it’s just — all we can do is provide supportive care, and it can kill people.”
Nationally, the burden of eastern equine encephalitis can vary from year to year.
There are typically about 11 human cases in the U.S. per year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were seven cases nationally last year, but more than 30 in 2019, which was a historically bad year in which at least a dozen patients died, according to federal data.
This story has been updated. Connecticut Public Radio’s Matt Dwyer, Kelsey Hubbard Rollinson, Patrick Skahill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
