Eastern equine encephalitis virus

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Background

Microbiology

Epidemiology

  • Mosquito-borne avian infection carried by the Culiseta melanura mosquito
  • Horses and humans are dead-end hosts, infected by bridge vectors including Aedes vexans and Coquillettidia perturbans
  • Usually only a handful of human cases annually in North America, and only one human case ever recorded in Ontario

Clinical Manifestations

  • Most are asymptomatic
  • Incubation period of 4 to 10 days
  • For those who develop disease, it usually begins with an influenza-like illness, with fever, malaise, arthralgia, and myalgia, which lasts one to two weeks
  • Some people develop neurologic disease during the febrile illness, which may progress to encephalitis
  • There is a high mortality rate among those who develop encephalitis, with death usually occuring between 2 and 10 days after illness onset
  • It is possible to have permanent and severe neurologic sequelae