Jacksonville saw case of potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus in 2018

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Families in Jacksonville say they were not happy to learn a deadly mosquito-borne virus has been detected in Florida.

Eastern equine encephalitis can cause brain swelling and death.

Several sentinel chickens tested positive for the virus, known as EEE, in the Orlando area.

Action News Jax Brittney Donovan found out a case in a human was reported in Duval County in 2018.

The CDC says 30 percent of people who contract the virus die.

“It scares me,” Nancy Williams said.

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She watches her 1- and 2-year-old grandchildren for up to 10 hours a day.

“I put repellent on them,” she said. "I still see containers full of water and it’s like really? I mean they’ve been warned.”

We checked with Nassau, Clay and St. Johns counties and didn’t find any active alerts for the virus.

It was detected in St Johns County as recently as June of 2018.

“Normally I do not wear mosquito repellent,” Joy Dorst said. “I will probably be changing my ways and wear some repellent.”

The Florida Department of Health says one or two cases in humans are typically reported in the state each year.

Health leaders want families to drain water from buckets, discard old containers and protect themselves with long clothing and repellent.

Cox Media Group

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