U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently toured the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station mosquito lab to learn more about research into Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).
The lab tracks and researches vector-borne diseases, and in 2017, received a five-year, $10 million grant from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The more we know about where EEE is and where West Nile is, the more we can give good policy recommendations to local communities and to public health officials on how to deal with it,” Murphy said
Without federal funding, the lab would be unable to continue its research. After the tour, Murphy said he would push for more money from the federal government to run the lab.
EEE is spread through mosquitos. Symptoms develop within four to 10 days, although some people can be asymptomatic.
The infection manifests in two ways. Systemic EEE lasts one to two weeks, and victims recover completely. A portion of patients, however, face an encephalitic infection, which causes brain swelling and can be fatal.
There is no prescribed treatment or vaccine for EEE.
The lab collects as many as 10,000 mosquitoes nightly from 92 traps throughout Connecticut. Lab technicians then identify the mosquito species for testing for the virus.