Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-transmitted disease, has been detected in Delaware the first time for 2022 in a sentinel chicken, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. Mosquito-transmitted virus detections in DNREC’s sentinel chickens are unrelated to Delaware’s poultry industry.
The EEE finding in northern New Castle County was from a sentinel chicken station sampled by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Mosquito Control section and confirmed by the Delaware Public Health Laboratory Aug. 9. While there have been no reported EEE cases in humans this year in the state, Delawareans are reminded that the possibility of contracting mosquito-transmitted diseases, including EEE and West Nile Virus (WNV), will continue until colder autumn temperatures in late-October or later.
The first EEE-positive sentinel chicken for this year adds to five WNV-positive sentinel chickens found earlier at three other sentinel chicken arbovirus monitoring stations in New Castle and Kent counties – with the first WNV finding occurring in early July. No EEE or WNV human cases have been reported to date in 2022 by the Delaware Public Health Laboratory, nor have any EEE or WNV equine cases been reported by the Delaware Department of Agriculture.
Blood samples are collected by the Mosquito Control section each week from early July into October from the state’s outdoor-caged sentinel chickens that are humanely housed and handled at 20 monitoring stations statewide. The blood samples are tested for EEE and WNV antibodies by the Delaware Public Health Laboratory. Sentinel chickens bitten by mosquitoes carrying EEE or WNV develop antibodies to these diseases but are otherwise unaffected. Mosquitoes can transmit both WNV and EEE to humans and horses.
The public is reminded to take common-sense precautions to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors in
