Community Announcements

USA's MOST SERIOUS MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE IN NW HILLSBOROUGH - The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County has issued an advisory (Sept. 13, 2022) to Hillsborough County residents after two horses in northwest Hillsborough tested positive for Eastern equine encephalitis, the most serious of the mosquito-borne viruses for humans.

 

Patch.com notes that there is no vaccine to treat people who contract the disease, making it fatal in up to 45 percent of cases - though there's a vaccine for horses that is 80 to 90 percent effective.

 

People under the age of 15 or over 50 are at the greatest risk for severe disease. The DOH-Hillsborough says an average of 40 people are infected with several types of mosquito-borne viruses each year.

 

For the majority of people, symptoms include fevers, joint pain, joint swelling, back pain, rashes, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue and redness around the eyes.

 

Some people who contract Eastern equine encephalitis develop seizures, neurological deficits or comas. People with severe encephalitic can go into a coma.

 

About 30 to 45 percent of people with Eastern equine encephalitis will die, making it the most serious mosquito-borne disease in the United States.

 

RISKS FROM MOSQUITO-BORNE VIRUSES

In Florida, mosquitoes have been known to transmit:

 

Chikungunya

Dengue fever

Eastern equine encephalitis

St. Louis encephalitis

Malaria

West Nile virus

Yellow fever

Zika

 

QUESTIONS? Contact the Florida Department of Health.