Life Cycle
| Eastern equine encephalitis virus | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | A83.2 |
| ICD-9 | 062.2 |
| MeSH | D020242 |
EEE is capable of infecting a wide range of animals including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The virus is maintained in nature through a bird - mosquito cycle. There are two mosquito species primarily involved in this portion of the cycle, they are Culiseta melanura and Cs. morsitans. These mosquitoes feed on the blood of birds. The amount of virus found in nature increases throughout the summer as more birds and more mosquitoes become infected.
Transmission of EEEV to mammals occurs via other mosquitoes. These other mosquitoes are called bridge vectors because they bring the virus from avian populations to mammalian populations. They include Aedes vexans, Coquiletidia perturbans, Ochlerotatus canadensis and Ochlerotatus sollicitans. All these mosquitoes are primarily mammalian feeders. Generally, people only become sick through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Humans, horses and other infected mammals do not circulate enough virus in their blood to infect additional mosquitoes. There have been some cases where EEEV has been contracted through lab exposures or from exposure of the eyes, lungs or skin wounds to brain or spinal cord matter from infected animals.
Read more about this topic: Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus
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