WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
The first 2020 case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis was diagnosed recently in a horse in Clare County.
Rebecca Burns, director of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, said confirmation of the EEE case highlights the need for both horse owners and Michigan residents to take safeguards against the disease.
EEE is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes to animals and people, and is considered one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases in the U.S., with a 90-percent fatality rate among horses that become ill and a 33-percent fatality rate among humans.
Last year, Michigan experienced 50 cases of EEE in animals and a record of 10 cases in humans. It also prompted school districts in St. Joseph County and across the state to change kickoff of high school football games to earlier in the evening.
