BURLINGTON, Vt. — One of two people in the western Vermont counties of Rutland and Addison infected with a mosquito-borne virus has died.

A Vermont Health Department spokesman told the Rutland Herald that the man died Tuesday. He was infected with Eastern equine encephalitis.

Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen was to talk about the death at a meeting in Brandon on Tuesday night to discuss spraying pesticides for mosquitoes.

Like West Nile virus, EEE is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. The illness can come on suddenly, characterized by chills, fever, malaise, joint and muscle pain. A more severe case can affect the central nervous system and put the person in a coma. About one-third of the people with severe EEE die from the disease.


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