NEW HAVEN — Eastern equine encephalitis, rarely found in the state, has been confirmed in mosquitoes trapped in the eastern Connecticut towns of Hampton and Voluntown, according to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

While rare — there are an average of six human cases reported nationally each year — eastern equine encephalitis is a serious viral disease in people, the experiment station said in a press release. There has been one human fatality in the state, which occurred in October 2013 in eastern Connecticut.

EEE, which is an inflammation of the brain, does not cause illness in most people, but symptoms in severe cases can include headache, high fever, chills and vomiting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Especially severe cases include disorientation, seizures or coma, the CDC says.

“Although the weather has cooled and mosquito populations are declining, the late season detection of EEE virus in eastern Connecticut requires continued monitoring and attention,” said Philip Armstrong, medical entomologist at the experiment station, in the release. “We will continue to trap and test mosquitoes in this region until the first killing frost,” Armstrong said.

The mosquitoes were collected Oct. 5 and 10, according to the release. EEE is carried by the Culiseta melanura mosquito.

About 30 percent of those who catch the disease will die, the experiment station said, and half of those who survive may suffer permanent neurological damage. The virus has been found sporadically in horses and pheasants in Connecticut since 1938, the release said.

There was one mosquito found with EEE in 2016, in Voluntown.

“Mosquitoes are still active and residents should continue to take measures to prevent mosquito bites especially in wooded areas in eastern Connecticut,” said Theodore Andreadis, director of the agricultural experiment station. “This includes using insect repellent and covering bare skin, especially during dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.”

A New Haven man tested positive for the less serious West Nile virus in September, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The agency traps mosquitoes at 91 stations in 72 towns and cities. For more information on EEE and West Nile virus and how to prevent mosquito bites, to to www.ct.gov/mosquito.

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