Verity Hill, Associate Research Scientist at Yale School of Public Health, joins FOX Weather to discuss Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus, including its symptoms and the steps you can take to help prevent it from spreading.
Rhode Island officials have raised the West Nile virus risk level to high after the state detected the virus in this year’s mosquito season.
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The virus was found in mosquito samples collected by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management in East Providence, North Providence and Providence on July 20.
The samples were tested by the Rhode Island State Health Laboratories.
A mosquito on a human finger.
(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Other mosquito samples collected at the same time showed no signs of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), Jamestown Canyon virus or additional West Nile virus activity.
While the detections do not indicate a widespread statewide outbreak, the risk level for West Nile virus is high.
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Health officials are now urging residents to take precautions against mosquito bites.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), West Nile virus is the leading mosquito-borne disease in the U.S.
Mosquito (Culex pipiens) stinging human arm to feed on blood.
(Arterra/Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
About 1 in 5 people infected with the virus develop symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea or a rash.
In more severe cases, the virus can affect the central nervous system and cause serious illness that may result in hospitalization or death.
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There are currently no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat West Nile virus in people.
This close-up photograph shows a mosquito on human skin in Montlouis-sur-Loire, central France, on October 21, 2022.
(GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images)
The CDC recommends using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and loose-fitting pants, avoiding outdoor activities between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, and using window and door screens or air conditioning to help keep mosquitoes outside.
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For more information about West Nile virus in Rhode Island, click here.
