New Yorker Infected With EEE Dies; Vt. Mosquito Testing Shows Improvement
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, on Monday announced ways the state will try to curb the disease's spread, including making mosquito repellent available to visitors at state parks and campgrounds.
The New York Times:
New York Resident Dies Of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Infection
The first person to be diagnosed with Eastern equine encephalitis in New York in nearly a decade has died, prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare the rare, mosquito-borne viral illness an imminent public health threat on Monday. Ms. Hochul announced the death, in Ulster County, in a news release outlining the steps that state officials are taking to reduce New Yorkers’ risk of exposure to the disease, also known as E.E.E. The death in New York appears to be the second linked to E.E.E. this year in the United States. The first involved a 41-year-old New Hampshire man who died in August. (Shanahan, 9/23)
VTDigger:
Testing Shows EEE-Positive Mosquitoes On The Decline In Vermont, But Officials Still Advise Caution
The number of mosquitoes testing positive for eastern equine encephalitis dropped to zero in the latest testing data released by the Vermont Department of Health. But the health department plans to keep its guidance for high-risk communities in place “until the first local hard frost, as there are likely still mosquitoes that are carrying the EEE virus,” said State Epidemiologist Patsy Kelso. (Petenko, 9/23)
WUSF:
The Effort To Contain Mosquitoes And Mosquito-Borne Illnesses In Florida
This year, the Florida Department of Health has issued mosquito-borne illness advisories in several counties for diseases like West Nile virus and dengue. With mosquitoes abundant in Florida, some counties have been practicing mitigation strategies against the bugs. (Pinos, 9/23)
The New York Times:
Was It Really A Hot Zone Summer?
Bird flu. Mpox, formerly monkeypox. Eastern equine encephalitis. West Nile. Listeria. Dengue. Oropouche. And, of course, Covid. Have the past few months felt like an unending parade of infectious disease? A plethora of pathogens dominated headlines all summer, and some of that attention may have been warranted: Oropouche, a tropical infection, and dengue devastated South America; mpox is ravaging parts of Africa; and bird flu holds the potential to flare into a dangerous pandemic. But in the United States, the threat to public health was much less alarming than it may have seemed. (Mandavilli, 9/23)
On mpox —
Reuters:
India Reports First Case Of Mpox From Fast-Spreading Clade 1b Variety
India said on Monday that an mpox case involving a man in the southern state of Kerala was from the fast-spreading clade 1b variety, marking South Asia's first recorded case from the new strain. The patient is a 38-year-old man who had traveled from the United Arab Emirates and had been admitted to the government medical college hospital in the district, Kerala authorities said last week. (Arif, 9/23)
Reuters:
Countries With Confirmed Cases Of New Mpox Strain
Here are the countries with confirmed cases of clade Ib mpox. (9/23)
Reuters:
Almost 30,000 Suspected Mpox Cases In Africa This Year, WHO Says
Nearly 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported in Africa so far this year, most of them in Democratic Republic of Congo where tests have run out, the World Health Organization said on Monday. (9/23)
