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

Deni WIBU / 500px via Getty Images Eastern equine encephalitis can be deadly when a human gets infected, but it's also very rare. 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. “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. “It will be a rare event for a person to encounter an infected mosquito in the first place, and if you are unlucky enough to get bitten by a virus-infected mosquito, there is still only about a 5% chance, or even less, that you would develop encephalitis,” Ippolito said. “You can also avoid areas where the types of birds and mosquitoes that transmit EEE are known to inhabit — EEE typically occurs in and around freshwater hardwood swamps,” Ippolito added.