Young Girl in Alabama Dies from Deadly Mosquito-Borne Virus

A seven-year-old girl from Alabama has tragically died from a rare and deadly virus obtained through a mosquito bite.

The virus, called Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), causes life-threatening brain swelling and has a fatality rate of up to 30 percent in humans. In horses, the fatality rate goes up to a staggering 95 percent.

The identity of the girl remains undisclosed. Her death marks the first reported EEE-related fatality in Alabama this year. Another case has been reported in Spanish Fort, a city on the Gulf Coast.

This year, the virus was also found in horses in New York, but no human cases have been reported there.

Officials in Florida are warning of a mosquito-borne virus that can cause brain swelling, coma, and even death pic.twitter.com/6W1y2CI9z2

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 31, 2019

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), EEE is a rare disease, with only about 11 cases reported annually in the US.

However, the disease is severe. The virus is passed on to mosquitoes when they bite infected birds that show no symptoms. These infected mosquitoes then transmit the virus to humans through their bites.

Symptoms of EEE appear four to ten days after infection and include sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills, and vomiting.

In severe cases, EEE can lead to disorientation, seizures, encephalitis (brain inflammation), and even coma. There are currently no vaccines or cures for the disease, so doctors focus on managing symptoms and supporting patients.

The Alabama Department of Public Health announced the death of the girl, stating that the infection occurred over the past few weeks. The second EEE patient from Spanish Fort was also infected around the same time.

Mental. Bats eat mosquitoes. They remove bats from areas with mosquitoes so that they can sell the terrible vaccine. Mosquirix; the very one that has a high incidence of encephalitis; swelling of the brain. Your body is your commodity. There is a pricetag on it https://t.co/YaudZ2ggRp

— Kate Shemirani (@KateShemirani) June 11, 2023

In response to these cases, authorities in Spanish Fort have taken action by spraying insecticides to kill mosquitoes potentially carrying the virus.

Mayor Mike McMillan confirmed that the town is already spraying areas once a week. However, he cautioned against more frequent spraying to prevent insects from developing resistance, which would be counterproductive.

Identifying the species of mosquito carrying the infection has been challenging, making eradication efforts more complicated. Traps have been set up to catch mosquitoes for testing. Mayor McMillan explained, “We are adjacent to a swamp, the Delta. There are a lot of different breeds of mosquitoes. We are doing all we can until we get a determination of the species.”

This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by mosquito-borne diseases.

This article appeared in Our Patriot and has been published here with permission.