--- title: "Bad News: Another Deadly Virus Is Spreading in the US" description: "Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus infections are on the rise in the Northeastern United States, in large part thanks to global warming." date: "2020-06-11" modified: "2020-06-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/bad-news-another-deadly-virus-is-spreading-in-the-us" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "virus" --- # Bad News: Another Deadly Virus Is Spreading in the US ![Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus infections are on the rise in the Northeastern United States, in large part thanks to global warming.]() *\Image: CDC\* There's another deadly virus brewing in the Northeastern United States. Those words may be hard to hear, but there's some good news as well: you're extremely unlikely to catch it. The eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus can cause a severe brain infection, and it can be transmitted through a mosquito bite, as [*OneZero* reports](). As the virus' name suggests, horses are particularly susceptible to infection. There's a vaccine for horses — but no specific treatment plan or approved human vaccine. Luckily, transmission and infection are both extremely rare. Since it was first discovered in humans in 1938, there have been less than 100 cases in the US, according to *OneZero*. In 2019, for instance, there were only [38 human cases recorded]() and 15 deaths in the US, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About [95 percent]() of those bitten by EEE-carrying mosquitoes never end up developing an infection. Those numbers couldn't be more different from the current coronavirus pandemic. The United States alone [crossed the two million cases threshold]() this week, with over 1,000 people dying from COVID-19 related deaths every 24 hours. But once infected, the EEE virus is deadly. Mortality rate is [about 33 percent](), according to the National Environmental Health Association. Those who survive will have to battle with sometimes crippling neurological impairments. Scientists are also worried that with rising temperatures caused by global warming, the number of outbreaks of the virus appear to be on the rise — in large part due to growing mosquito populations during prolonged summer periods, according to *OneZero*. At the end of the day, despite the risks, it's important not to take the EEE virus too far out of context. "We try our best to make people aware of the risks without sensationalizing," Catherine Brown, state epidemiologist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, told *OneZero*. "But there are still people who are so fearful of EEE that they kind of forget that there are other things going on in the world." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()