A Madison County resident has been hospitalized with the county’s first-ever human infection of EEE, an extremely rare, but deadly, virus.
It’s the first Central New York case of EEE since a Salina man died in 2015. An Ulster County resident died from the virus in 2024.
The mosquito-borne virus attacks the brain. About 30% of infected people die, while about 50% of survivors are left with lasting brain damage, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Madison County officials did not provide the age of the individual, nor where in the county that person might have been infected, citing privacy concerns. Generally, people under the age of 15 and over the age of 60 are most vulnerable to eastern equine encephalitis.
Nationally, about 1 to 2 people die of EEE each year.
There are no available vaccines or treatments, county officials said. Prevention is focused on reducing mosquito populations and avoiding insect bites.
It’s at least the second Central New Yorker to be hospitalized for a serious mosquito-borne virus this year. An Onondaga County resident contracted West Nile virus in July.
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