PROVIDENCE, RI – Sometimes the best defense is a good offense - at least when it comes to arboviruses (a scientific term used to describe a group of viral infections transmitted to humans from a group of infected insects).  That is why U.S. Senator Jack Reed led the successful effort to include $200,000 in FY24 federal funding to help Rhode Island officials combat Eastern equine encephalitis, the rare but life-threatening mosquito-borne infection known as EEE. 

EEE is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The virus, which can cause inflammation and swelling of the brain, may also be carried by horses, other mammals, and birds.  Approximately 30 percent of people with EEE die, and many survivors have ongoing neurologic problems, according to the CDC.

Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, included $1 million in the most recent Appropriations law to spur the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help Rhode Island and other states at risk of EEE outbreaks track, prevent, and respond to EEE as a part of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

This week, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is using a portion of this federal funding for aerial drops of mosquito larvicide across some 3,000 acres of swamps in Westerly and South Kingstown.

“EEE is rare, but outbreaks are spreading and the federal government needs to do its part to help states prepare and protect residents,” said Senator Reed, who also included $1 million to fight EEE in the latest Senate Appropriations bill that was approved by the full committee and is pending before the full U.S. Senate.  “The $200,000 in federal funding is helping DEM protect public health and safely target mosquito populations that are most likely to carry EEE.”

Rhode Island and other states can use the federal EEE funding for things like public education, surveillance of the mosquito population, elimination of standing water, and application of larvicides that safely prevent mosquitoes from becoming adults.

So far this summer, there have been no reported human cases of EEE in Rhode Island.  However, EEE has been detected locally in 17 samples collected by the state, which also collected five samples that contained West Nile Virus.  And there have been human cases of EEE reported in at least five states in 2024: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Symptoms of eastern equine encephalitis may include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes, and drowsiness.

Currently, there are no vaccines to prevent EEE.

DEM has scheduled aerial mosquito spraying operations for Thursday, August 29 and Friday, August 30, weather permitting.  Helicopters plan to drop larvicide applications into targeted treatment areas around Chapman Swamp in Westerly and Great Swamp in South Kingstown.  DEM notes: “The larvicide applications will not target open bodies of water, and treatment areas do not include Worden Pond in South Kingstown or Chapman Pond in Westerly. In the event of inclement weather, a rain date will be announced. The larvicide used, known as Bti, does not pose a risk to humans or the environment.”

Most cases of EEE are reported during peak mosquito season, from July through October.