Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County residents and others across the state are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites as mosquitos recently collected have tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

The mosquitos collected in Bay County tested positive at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Laboratories.

Although no cases have been diagnosed in people or animals this year, the Department says it’s important to know they can be infected with EEE from one bite of a mosquito carrying the virus. Anyone can become ill with EEE. People under age 15 and over age 50 are at greatest risk of severe disease following an infection.

MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said the testing information confirms the virus is here in mosquitos in Michigan. She noted that EEE is one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, with a 33% fatality rate in people who become ill.

In 2022, there were no human cases of EEE, however, EEE caused the death of three horses from Eaton, Roscommon and St. Joseph counties and one bird from Houghton County.

In 2021, there was one human case of EEE – and one local case detected in a deer in Livingston County.

In 2020, there were four human cases of EEE, two of which were fatal.

In 2019, Michigan had 10 cases of EEE, six of which were fatal.

As of June 30th, more than 600 mosquito pools had been tested in Michigan during 2023. In addition to the recent discovery in Bay County, a mosquito pool from Saginaw County tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus.