More Instances of Encephalitis Found in East
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GREENWICH, Conn. — Mosquitoes infected with the St. Louis encephalitis virus were discovered here Tuesday and a third case of the virus was confirmed in an adjacent county in New York.
Officials in both states announced plans to begin spraying the areas on Thursday.
In Connecticut, officials found the virus in mosquitoes trapped on a Greenwich golf course. The virus was also found in the brain of a dead crow removed from a home in Westport.
An infected mosquito transmits the virus to humans by first biting an infected bird. Encephalitis, an infection of the brain and spinal cord, is characterized by high fever, coma and convulsions.
It has killed three people in New York City since late August and spraying there has been underway since early September. The spraying in Greenwich will be conducted by truck-mounted ground sprayers using resmithrin.
Mosquitoes will cease to be a threat after the first hard frosts.
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