U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged aggressive federal action, including additional funding for research and development of vaccines and treatment to combat Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile virus, and other mosquito-borne illnesses. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for EEE.

Blumenthal will be joined by Dr. Matthew Cartter of the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH) and Dr. Theodore Andreadis of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) to provide an update on current mosquito and virus activity in the state. This week CTDPH announced that an adult from East Lyme has tested positive for EEE, only the second human case ever reported in Connecticut. The EEE virus has been identified in mosquitoes in 12 towns and horses in two other towns. Across the region, there have been eight human cases of EEE infection in Massachusetts and one human case in Rhode Island, with one case in each state resulting in a fatality.

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