The Vermont Department of Health is urging people to avoid exposure to mosquitoes after a horse in Addison County tested positive from eastern equine encephalitis , according to a press release the department issued Monday morning.
The case prompted officials to add Salisbury to the list of towns with high risk for eastern equine encephalitis , also known as EEE. This list now includes Alburgh, Burlington, Colchester, Salisbury, Sudbury, Swanton and Whiting, according to the department. Health officials “strongly recommend limiting evening outdoor activities until the first hard frost in their area” in those towns, the release stated.
The health department also reported the first case of West Nile virus in a person this year. The Chittenden County resident, in their 80s, was hospitalized then released in August, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed test results Sept. 25.
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Illness from the West Nile virus is less severe than EEE, according to the department, and most people do not develop symptoms. Others may experience fever, headaches, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rashes…