This year in America, one person has died due to a rare virus spread by mosquitoes. The incident happened in New Hampshire. Where such a case had not been reported in the last decade. This is the fifth case of Triple E virus infection in America this year. This virus is extremely rare but deadly.
The US administration believes that the mosquito-borne Triple E virus infection has spread in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and surrounding states. These states have been put on high alert. Let us first know about this virus…
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What is Triple E virus?
EEEV i.e. Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus is also known as Triple E. The infection of this virus, discovered in 1938, is very rare but dangerous. Since then, 118 people have been infected in New Hampshire. Due to this, 64 people have died so far. In humans, this virus attacks the central nervous system. Due to which there is swelling in the brain. There is pain.
Where was this virus found?
This virus was found in North America and the Caribbean. In America, it was first found in people of the eastern and Gulf coastal states. Verity Hill, Associate Research Scientist at the Yale University School of Public Health, said that it reaches humans from various bird species through mosquitoes. This virus is usually carried by the Black-Tailed Mosquito. Most of its cases are reported in Eastern America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
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How does this virus spread?
This virus is found in different species of birds that live or migrate in the mud in the forests. Some species of mosquitoes infect humans and other mammals with the Triple E virus. These mosquitoes bite infected birds and pick up the virus from there with blood. Then they inject it into humans.
Compared to birds, humans and horses are dead-end hosts for this virus. That is, the virus does not spread to anyone else after this. If a mosquito bites an infected human again, it does not spread the virus again. That is, after spreading the infection once, they cannot infect anyone else by taking the virus from humans.
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What are the symptoms of infection?
A person infected with the Triple E virus has fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizure attacks, behavioral changes, fatigue, sleepiness, and loss of focus. In severe cases, the brain swells, which is called encephalitis. To diagnose it, symptoms are observed. Or the marrow and blood present in the spinal cord are examined. If antibodies are formed in them, then you are infected.
How many cases have come so far this year?
So far, 5 cases have been reported in the US this year. In Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, Wisconsin and New Hampshire. In Oxford, Massachusetts, an 80-year-old man was infected for the first time this year since 2020. So far, only one death has occurred this year, that too in New Hampshire.
How common is this virus, how dangerous is it?
The Triple E virus rarely affects humans. From 2003 to 2023, 196 cases have been reported in America. About 11 cases are reported every year. The most dangerous infection of this virus spread in 2019, when 38 cases were reported. In which 12 people died.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)