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Maine CDC Finds EEE In Mosquitoes In Southern Part Of The State

Lisa Poole
/
Associated Press/file
Mosquitoes are sorted at the Massachusetts Dept. of Health State Laboratory Institute in Boston for testing for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile viruses in 2007.

LEBANON, Maine - Health authorities in Maine say they have confirmed the presence of a potentially deadly virus in mosquitoes in the southern part of the state.The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday mosquitoes in York County tested positive for eastern equine encephalitis. A state laboratory found the virus in a single mosquito pool collected Sept. 6 in the town of Lebanon.

Maine CDC director Nirav Shah says detection of the virus means mosquitoes that carry it are still active in the state. That means residents and visitors need to take precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites.

Maine CDC announced last month that a horse in York County was euthanized after contracting the virus. The last case involving a human in the state was in 2015.