Vermont has become just the second state to postpone public events in order to limit the spread of a deadly virus in the state.
The Green Mountain State is joining neighboring Massachusetts in advising its citizens to stay home at night amid high reports of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).
This rare horse-borne and mosquito-borne disease, and in about 30 percent of human cases, can cause brain swelling, vomiting, seizures and death.
In addition to postponing local nighttime festivals and concerts, the Vermont Department of Health strongly recommends[s]People in some of the state's busiest cities stay indoors between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., when bugs are most active.
Vermont's public health department found 47 mosquito clusters with EEE in 11 communities — a sharp increase from last year, when 14 mosquito clusters tested positive in three cities
Citizens in some of Vermont's most populous areas have been “strongly advised” to avoid leaving home between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., when mosquitoes are most active
Although the virus is rare, it is has already earned one life in New England this year. Stephen Perry, 41, a father of four, died after contracting the virus New Hampshire last week.
He was the first person in New Hampshire to contract the virus in ten years.
Around the same time, across state lines, curfews were announced in several Massachusetts counties. Sports games, cookouts and other end-of-summer events have been postponed across the state, a move Vermont appears to be mirroring.
HEE is rare — it affects about 11 Americans a year — but in the past year, it's been plaguing New England at seemingly record levels.
August marked the first case of a mosquito-borne human illness in Vermont since 2012.
Areas in Vermont at highest risk, as identified by the health department, include Burlington, Colchester, Alburg, Swanton and Sudbury.
Public health officials arrived in these areas after detecting 47 clusters of mosquitoes with HEE in 11 communities — a sharp increase from last year, when 14 clusters of mosquitoes tested positive in three cities.
The canceled events include Burlington's annual Oktoberfest celebration, usually one of the state's largest gatherings.
The organizer of the event released a statement that read: “While the final outcome of this virus” and the general response from the public is not our judgment, the significant costs associated with hosting this event prevent us from further delaying this the decision to learn.”
Cases of HEE appear to have increased slightly since the Covid pandemic, although experts say the virus remains rare in humans
Other cancellations include music and food festivals, art shows, concerts and outdoor movies.
The Vermont Department of Health said since there is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, prevention is the best course of action, even though it can be inconvenient.
“The best way to reduce your risk of EEE contamination is to: limit time outdoors at dawn and dusk,” officials said. If you must go out at night, they recommend using bug spray and wearing long sleeves.
Once in your system, HEE attacks the nervous system, just like other mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile.
In a typical case, a person will experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, body aches and joint pain for one to two weeks.
But about 30 percent of people develop more severe symptoms due to infection of the brain or spinal cord, leading to brain swelling, mild disability or death.
People over the age of 50 or under the age of 15 are at higher risk for these serious complications than the average person.
