Mosquitoes Have Been Caught Carrying a Deadly Brain Virus in Florida - ScienceAlert

DAN ROBTIZSKI, FUTURISM

31 JUL 2019

Orange County, Florida, just released apublic advisory warningthat the Department of Health had found signs of the rare brain-infecting virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) in the area.

EEEV is a particularly rare infection - it tends to spread in remote, swampy areas far from human civilization. But when the disease does strike, it can be grave:Gizmodo reportsthat a bite from aninfected mosquitocan cause severe, fatal brain swelling in a matter of days.

Health Department officials found EEEV in a flock of sentinel chickens, which local governments use to monitor and track infectious diseases, according to the warning, which included a list of steps people can take toprevent mosquito populationsfrom growing.

If the sentinel chickens are getting bit, that means human infections could follow close behind,according to Gizmodo.

Unfortunately, mosquito-borne illnesswill likely spreadfarther into human-populated areas as our planet continues to heat up through climate change.

While EEEV is rare and human infections that lead to dangerous symptoms are even rarer, scientists have yet to figure out a vaccine or treatment for the disease, posing a problem for our warmer future.

This article was originally published byFuturism. Read theoriginal article.

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