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Michigan Warns Residents About Mosquito-Borne Illness After a Death States Warn Residents About Mosquito-Borne Illness That Has Killed 5
(about 2 hours later)
Health authorities in Michigan have warned residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites that can transmit a virus that has recently sickened three people in the state, one of them fatally. Health authorities have warned residents to protect themselves against bites from mosquitoes that can transmit a rare virus that has killed at least five people in three states this year.
A statement from Kalamazoo County’s Health and Community Services on Sept. 6 said that two people had been sickened by the virus that causes Eastern Equine Encephalitis in the county and another in Berrien County, both in the southwest part of the state. An increase in cases of the disease, called Eastern Equine Encephalitis, has prompted authorities in Michigan, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey to issue the warnings this month: Remove standing water. Use repellent. Seal windows and doors.
“We strongly encourage residents to take precautions such as using insect repellent with DEET, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors during the peak mosquito-biting hours, which are dusk and dawn,” James Rutherford, the department’s health officer, said in the statement. The five deaths were in Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to state officials.
The fatal case was in Kalamazoo County, which is south of Grand Rapids, the statement said. The man who died was identified by his family as Gregg McChesney, 64, an artist and grandfather who was working alongside his brother less than a month before his sudden death, a local television station reported. In Michigan, three people have died from the disease, for which there is no known vaccine, in a total of seven confirmed cases this year, state officials said this week.
The state is experiencing its worst outbreak of the disease in more than a decade, Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive, said in a statement on Tuesday.
In Massachusetts, there was one fatality in the nine confirmed cases so far this year, state authorities said on Wednesday. One person died from the disease out of the three cases in Rhode Island, health authorities in that state reported on Tuesday.
“We strongly encourage residents to take precautions such as using insect repellent with DEET, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors during the peak mosquito-biting hours, which are dusk and dawn,” James Rutherford, a health officer for Kalamazoo County’s Health and Community Services in Michigan, said in a statement earlier this month.
In Michigan, the fatal case was in Kalamazoo County, which is south of Grand Rapids, the statement said. The man who died was identified by his family as Gregg McChesney, 64, a local television station reported.
He was a “perfectly healthy, happy human being and within a matter of nine days he went from perfectly healthy to brain-dead,” Mark McChesney, a brother, told News 8 on Tuesday.He was a “perfectly healthy, happy human being and within a matter of nine days he went from perfectly healthy to brain-dead,” Mark McChesney, a brother, told News 8 on Tuesday.
There were three more possible cases in Kalamazoo and an additional case was under investigation in Berrien, the statement said. Residents were also advised to take precautions to ensure windows and doors have tight-fitting screens, and to eliminate standing water. On Monday, the authorities in Connecticut announced their first human case of E.E.E. for this season.
“The risk for contracting E.E.E. throughout Kalamazoo County is considered widespread and all residents should take actions to prevent mosquito bites until the first hard frost of the year,” the statement said. The commissioner of the Department of Public Health, Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell, on Monday said an adult in East Lyme has tested positive for the disease after falling ill during the last week of August with encephalitis, and is in the hospital, said the Connecticut Department of Public Health statement.
This week, the authorities in Connecticut announced their first human case of E.E.E. The commissioner of the Department of Public Health, Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell, on Monday said an adult in East Lyme has tested positive for the disease. “Other states throughout the Northeast are also experiencing an active season for E.E.E.,” the statement said.
New Jersey’s Department of Health reported one diagnosis this season.
The disease is one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, with a fatality rate of 33 percent in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 90 percent of the horses that are stricken with the disease die, it said.The disease is one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, with a fatality rate of 33 percent in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 90 percent of the horses that are stricken with the disease die, it said.
Infections are seasonal, mostly from late spring through early fall, but cases rarely occur in winter.
Transmission of the virus is most common in and around swamps in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states and in the Great Lakes region, the C.D.C. said.Transmission of the virus is most common in and around swamps in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states and in the Great Lakes region, the C.D.C. said.
The virus is transmitted to people and animals through a mosquito bite. It cannot be transmitted from one person to another, or from an animal to a person. In the United States, an average of seven human cases are reported annually, the agency said.The virus is transmitted to people and animals through a mosquito bite. It cannot be transmitted from one person to another, or from an animal to a person. In the United States, an average of seven human cases are reported annually, the agency said.
Early symptoms usually appear about four to 10 days after exposure to the virus. They include headache, high fever, chills and aches. Symptoms can develop into brain swelling, which can result in headache, disorientation, tremors, seizures and paralysis, the Michigan statement said.Early symptoms usually appear about four to 10 days after exposure to the virus. They include headache, high fever, chills and aches. Symptoms can develop into brain swelling, which can result in headache, disorientation, tremors, seizures and paralysis, the Michigan statement said.
There is no human vaccine or specific anti-viral treatment, the C.D.C. said.It said people with symptoms should consult a health care provider for a diagnosis. There is no human vaccine or specific anti-viral treatment, the C.D.C. said. It said people with symptoms should consult a health care provider for a diagnosis.