New Deadly Mosquito Virus in Florida, Also Found In Wisconsin

I think most of us are familiar with the West Nile Virus, but there is another deadly disease that can be transmitted by mosquitoes, and it's on the rise in Florida. It's called Eastern Equine encephalitis, or EEE for short. It's a brain swelling virus that mosquitoes can transmit to humans.

In Florida, they test sentinal chickens for signs of West Nile Virus and EEE. These chickens don't show symptoms of the disease, but they rather use their blood as a marker to tell us how prevalent the viruses are from year to year. This year there has been an "uptick" according to CNN Health.

It's still a very rare disease, with an average of only 7 cases reported each year. However, a third of people who contract the disease die from it. Survivors are left with life long issues, most of them being neurological.

While this problem may seem far away from us in the Midwest, I did look at the CDC's statistical map and it shows there have been two reported cases in Wisconsin in the last 10 years, and 7 cases in Michigan.

Unfortunately there is no vaccine. The best way to beat this is prevention. Drain standing water from around your home. Use insect repellent, and cover your skin. Many of these deadly mosquito viruses are found in mosquitoes hatched in swampy areas.