The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that it had detected what it believes is the state’s first case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis of 2025.
The disease, known as “Triple E,” was caught from a local source, according to officials. It is known as a mosquito-borne disease. The Mainer became ill in late August, and is still being treated in a hospital.
A sample was sent to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure it is an Eastern Equine Encephalitis infection, but the results are considered to be a “presumptive positive”
The state CDC warns that, due to recent heavy rains, the risk of mosquito-borne disease is high across much of the state. There is an increased risk in Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Waldo counties for exposure to an EEE-carrying vector, because of the ideal habitats for mosquitoes that carry that disease.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, along with Jamestown Canyon virus and West Nile virus all spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. The disease can not be spread from human to human, or between humans and animals.
West Nile virus was detected in Maine mosquito populations this summer. The mosquitoes that tested positive for West Nile were found in Portland, according to Maine CDC spokesperson Lindsay Hammes.
Symptoms of EEE, the Jamestown Canyon virus and West Nile virus include body aches, diarrhea, fever, headaches, rashes or vomiting, according to the U.S. CDC.
Mainers can take precautions against these viruses by wearing insect repellant, long-sleeve shirts and long pants; draining pools of standing water; and installing or repairing broken window screens.
