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Pest Management Priducts Division of CSPA
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St. Louis Encephalitis - The virus causing St. Louis Encephalitis is the most common mosquito-borne human pathogens in the U.S. Occurring in every state, St. Louis Encephalitis is found particularly in Florida, the Gulf Coast Region, Ohio, the Mississippi Valley, and Western states. Outbreaks are most likely from mid-summer through the early fall. Since 1964 the CDC has confirmed an average of 193 cases yearly. In 1990, 226 people were infected with the virus and 11 died in Florida. Fearing an outbreak in 1997, state health officials issued an encephalitis alert, prompting Disney World and other tourist parks to limit night activity.
St. Louis Encephalitis is transmitted among birds primarily by Culex pipiens mosquitoes. Only being bitten by an infected mosquito infects humans. There is no person-to-person transmission. Symptoms include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and lethargy. The state of symptoms may be abrupt onset of fever, nausea and vomiting with severe headaches. These symptoms develop within five to seven days after a bite by an infected mosquito. In its severe form, it can cause seizures, coma and paralysis. The mortality rate is 10% with most fatalities among people 60 and older. Treatment is administered for symptoms as they occur.
LaCrosse Encephalitis - Occurring primarily in upper Midwestern states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, LaCrosse Encephalitis also has been reported in the mid South Atlantic states of West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina and in the Southeastern states of Alabama and Mississippi. Some 75 cases have been reported annually in the U.S. since 1964.
Most cases occur among children and teens under 16. Symptoms are fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, convulsions and lethargy, with severe cases including seizures, coma and paralysis. Some 1% of cases result in death. Treatment is administered for symptoms as they occur.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis - A viral infection maintained in nature by a bird-mosquito cycle similar to St. Louis Encephalitis, Eastern Equine Encephalitis is found in freshwater swamp areas of coastal states of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and in some inland mid-western locations. CDC has reported an annual average of five cases since 1964. Mosquitoes associated with the disease include Culex quiquefasciatus, Aedes sollicitans and Aedes vexans.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis can infect people of any age, but young children and infants suffer most from the disease. Symptoms begin 4-10 days after the bite of an infected mosquito, with sudden onset of fever, general muscle pain and increasingly severe headache. Serious cases have seizures and coma. About 35% of those infected die, usually within three to five days from the onset of symptoms. Children and infants who survive are frequently afflicted with varying degrees of mental retardation and paralysis. Up to half of survivors will suffer permanent brain damage, many requiring permanent institutional care. Treatment is administered for symptoms as they occur.
