UF students may want to get into the habit of wearing bug spray.
A rare human case of Eastern equine encephalitis, a mosquito-borne illness, may make its way to Gainesville after the Florida Department of Health discovered a Tampa resident was infected earlier this month.
The virus, also known as EEE, can be transmitted through a mosquito bite, which causes inflammation of the brain and eventually death.
Jonathan F. Day, UF professor of medical entomology, said although the illness is rare, it’s commonly found in North Florida.
Day said there are five main mosquito-borne diseases native to Florida. EEE is considered to be the second-worst disease behind West Nile Virus.
The virus usually appears in June and July. However, Day said the disease is appearing earlier than usual, attributing this year’s mild winter to increased mosquito activity.
“It’s a disease we are concerned about,” he said.
Day warns of several symptoms related to the disease such as a high fever that exceeds 102 degrees, severe headaches and blurred vision.
Some UF students said they aren’t concerned with the disease spreading.
Claire Fassett, 18, a UF food science and human nutrition freshman, said she wouldn’t start stocking up on bug repellent soon unless more cases are reported.
Teresa Christmas, a 20-year-old UF anthropology sophomore, agreed, saying she doesn’t like the feeling of bug spray.
“[I’d] rather get bit than put on that spray,” she said.
