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Cancer Answers is hosted by Dr. Anees Chagpar, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology and Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Dr. Francine Foss, Professor of Medical Oncology. The show features a guest cancer specialist who will share the most recent advances in cancer therapy and respond to listeners questions. Myths, facts and advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment are discussed, with a different focus eachweek. Nationally acclaimed specialists in various types of cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment discuss common misconceptions about the disease and respond to questions from the community.Listeners can submit questions to be answered on the program at canceranswers@yale.edu or by leaving a message at (888) 234-4YCC. As a resource, archived programs from 2006 through the present are available in both audio and written versions on the Yale Cancer Center website.

Connecticut Sees First Human Case Of EEE This Year

Shona Na
/
Creative Commons

Connecticut has confirmed the first human case of Eastern equine encephalitis in the state since 2013, health officials announced Monday.

State Department of Public Health experts said that an adult from East Lyme tested positive for the virus, which is usually transmitted from infected mosquitoes. The resident became ill during the last week of August and remains hospitalized.

“EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages,” DPH Commissioner Renée Coleman Mitchell said in a statement. “Using insect repellent, covering bare skin and avoiding being outdoors from dusk to dawn are effective ways to help keep you from being bitten by mosquitoes.”  

States in the Northeast are on alert this summer as mosquitoes in swampy and other areas have tested positive for EEE, which appears in the region every couple years and can cause serious illness. About a third of patients die and many of the survivors have mild to severe brain damage, according to health experts.

Up until now, only mosquitoes, horses and birds in Connecticut have tested positive for EEE, particularly in towns of eastern Connecticut. This is the first time a person has been diagnosed with EEE in Connecticut since 2013, and that case was fatal.

It takes four to 10 days after a bite from an infected mosquito to develop symptoms, which include can include sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills and vomiting. It can progress to disorientation, seizures and coma.

On average, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about seven people in the country get EEE annually, so the disease continues to be rare in humans.

DPH advises residents to avoid trips to mosquito breeding grounds like marshes or swamps. Officials recommend that people limit their time outside between dusk and dawn, when mosquito activity is high. Wearing long clothing and insect repellant can also help avoid a bite.

Although Connecticut public health officials are continuing to detect EEE in mosquitoes and animals, they said the numbers are declining and the state doesn’t have an excessive level of activity currently seen in Massachusetts. The first heavy frost sometime this fall should kill most mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, public health officials said.

Anyone who thinks they may be infected with EEE should seek medical care immediately.

Nicole Leonard joined Connecticut Public Radio to cover health care after several years of reporting for newspapers. In her native state of New Jersey, she covered medical and behavioral health care, as well as arts and culture, for The Press of Atlantic City. Her work on stories about domestic violence and childhood food insecurity won awards from the New Jersey Press Association.

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