A Rare Mosquito-Borne Illness Is On The Rise. Here's What To Know.

Residents of several New England states are on high alert after officials urged folks to take extra precautions as cases of eastern equine encephalitis, a rare yet deadly mosquito-borne illness, are on the rise.

The number of reported infections overall is low, but it’s still concerning: Notably, a person in New Hampshire has died of the illness. One person in Vermont has also been infected, marking the first human case in the state since 2012, and one person in Massachusetts has been infected, which is the first case in a person in Massachusetts since 2020.

How worried do you need to be? Here’s what experts want you to know:

What is eastern equine encephalitis?

“Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE as we often call it, is a mosquito-borne viral infection… that typically is found in bird populations, and it’s transmitted among birds by a particular mosquito that only feeds on birds,” explained Dr. Daniel R. Kuritzkes, the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “But, there are other mosquitoes that feed on both birds and humans and other mammals, and that’s how the infection occasionally spills into the human population.”

“If bitten by an infected mosquito, some people will become sick but others might not even notice,” said Dr. Matthew M. Ippolito, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

“Usually about a week after getting bitten a person might start to have flu-like symptoms of fevers, headaches and nausea,” Ippolito added. For many people, this is where the virus stops, although it can sometimes cause lifelong physical and mental issues.

Ippolito said only a small percentage of