Triple E is back and it is affecting many aspects of people’s everyday lives.
Sutton is among the many surrounding towns in Massachusetts to be sprayed for Triple E as it is considered to be at a higher risk in Worcester County. According to Today.com, “We have not seen an outbreak of EEE for four years in Massachusetts.” The plan is to aerial spray in the areas that are the most at risk.
But, you may be asking yourself, what is Triple E? Triple E stands for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which is caused by the virus. This disease is rare, but if caught, it can be very harmful to humans.
How can humans attract it? It starts with the mosquitoes, which get infected by this strange disease, through a transmission cycle between these mosquitoes. It is most often found in mosquitoes that are in and around freshwater or hardwood swamps. Mosquitoes tend to feed on birds mostly, which is why it is so rare, making humans more considered the “dead-end hosts.” Horses can also attract this virus, and spread it to humans. Mosquitoes bite their hosts, and pass the disease along.
Many people who get the virus do not develop symptoms, but some people do. Some symptoms of the mosquito borne virus are fever, chills, muscle aches, and joint pain. These symptoms show up a little over 3-10 days after getting bitten by a mosquito infected by the virus. After that 3-10 days, the most dangerous thing that can happen is that your brain can swell and become inflamed. Encephalitis, as this brain swelling is called, can get extremely worse, putting people into comas within a week.
There have been about 196 reported cases of Triple E from 2003 to 2023, according to the Aljzeera. Currently there are no real treatments for Triple E. Triple E has about a 30% mortality rate, and there have been about 12 deaths nationwide. There are about 4-5 reported cases of Triple E per year. People who do survive are often permanently disabled, with a few complete recoveries.
How can we avoid this strange disease? If outdoors, try to avoid dusk and dawn times, because mosquitoes are most active at these times. If you need to be outside at these times, try to wear long sleeves to cover your skin. Use the repellent with one of these five ingredients: DEET, permethrin, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Try to avoid and remove areas of standing water around your house where mosquitoes tend to collect.
Triple E, however rare, should be taken seriously. It can seriously damage a person. By taking the necessary precautions, we can get the numbers down, and ultimately save more people from getting infected by this extremely rare, but harmful disease.
