Eastern equine encephalitis

Eastern equine encephalitis

n. Abbr. EEE

Encephalitis that is caused by a mosquito-borne virus and affects humans, horses, and some bird species. It occurs in small epidemics in the eastern United States and is seen in other parts of North and South America.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Eastern equine encephalitis

A rare, sporadic, and aggressive enzootic infection by a single-stranded RNA Togavirus that primarily affects birds Vector Ornithophilic mosquito, Culiseta melanura, largely confined to the Northeast US, especially Massachusetts; infection of horses and humans is an accidental 'dead-end', occurring when the virus is transmitted to other mosquitoes–eg, Aedes vexans, Aedes sollicitans, Coquillitidia perturbans; ± 5 human cases/yr in the US–Clinical Meningismus, lethargy, stupor, high fever, spinal pleocytosis Prognosis 30-70% mortality; severe neurologic sequelae. Cf St Louis equine encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

eastern equine encephalitis

Encephalitis caused by the eastern equine arbovirus, which is transmitted from horses to humans by mosquitoes; the incubation period is 1 to 2 weeks. Although this is the least common of the arboviruses, mortality is approx. 25%, and those who survive often have neurological problems. In the U.S. it occurs on the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and in the Great Lakes region during the mosquito season from midsummer to early fall.

See also: encephalitis

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