A person diagnosed with EEE earlier this season has died and a second case of the disease has been confirmed in Connecticut this season.
The Department of Public Health confirmed an adult from East Lyme who was hospitalized with Eastern Equine Encephalitis in late August has died.
DPH also confirmed a second human case has been confirmed in an adult resident of Old Lyme.
EEE is a rare disease, but 30 percent of people who catch it die, and survivors typically suffer ongoing neurological problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This marks the third human case of EEE ever reported in Connecticut, according to DPH. The first case was in fall 2013.
Symptoms of EEE include headache, high fever, chills and vomiting. It may then progress with disorientation, seizures and coma.
There is no specific treatment for EEE.
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EEE in Connecticut
The disease has been found in mosquitos in 12 towns, including Chester, Haddam, Hampton, Groton, Killingworth, Ledyard, Madison, North Stonington, Plainfield, Shelton, Stonington, and Voluntown. Horses have tested positive for EEE in Colchester, Columbia, Salen, Sterling and Voluntown.
West Nile Virus in Connecticut
Health officials have also confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus in Connecticut this season in a resident of Danbury. DPH said that person is recovering.
West Nile Virus is more common than EEE and has been detected in the state every year since 1999.
West Nile has been detected in mosquitoes in 23 towns in Connecticut, including Bridgeport, Chester, Darien, East Haven, Greenwich, Groton, Hartford, Manchester, Middlefield, Monroe, New Canaan, New Haven, Newington, North Haven, North Stonington, Norwalk, South Windsor, Stamford, Stonington, Voluntown, West Hartford, West Haven, Wethersfield. A horse in Easton has also tested positive for the virus.
DPH has urged residents to avoid outdoor activities from dusk to dawn, when mosquitoes are most active, and take measures to avoid mosquito bites. State officials said the mosquitoes that carry the viruses are active until the first heavy frost.
There have been 10 human cases of EEE in neighboring Massachusetts and three in Rhode Island, health officials said.
