Stock photo by Francesco Ungaro via Pexels The Vermont Department of Health is urging people to avoid exposure to mosquitoes after a horse in Addison County tested positive from eastern equine encephalitis, according to a press release the department issued Monday morning. The case prompted officials to add Salisbury to the list of towns with high risk for eastern equine encephalitis, also known as EEE. This list now includes Alburgh, Burlington, Colchester, Salisbury, Sudbury, Swanton and Whiting, according to the department. Health officials “strongly recommend limiting evening outdoor activities until the first hard frost in their area” in those towns, the release stated. The health department also reported the first case of West Nile virus in a person this year. The Chittenden County resident, in their ’80s, was hospitalized then released in August, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed test results Sept. 25.READ MORE Illness from the West Nile virus is less severe than EEE, according to the department, and most people do not develop symptoms. Others may experience fever, headaches, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rashes. Health officials recommend that residents across Vermont should take precautions, including using mosquito repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, applying repellent when they spend time outdoors, particularly at dawn or dusk, wearing loose-fitting long sleeve shirts and pants outside, removing standing water near the home, and fixing holes in screens. EEE is a rare, serious disease transmitted through mosquitoes that is fatal in about 30% of people who develop severe symptoms, according to the CDC. While most people infected do not develop symptoms, those who do may experience headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, seizures, behavioral changes and drowsiness. There are no vaccines or treatments for West Nile or EEE for humans, though vaccinations do exist for some animals, including horses.The Addison County horse, which was unvaccinated, has died, according to the release. Scott Waterman, a spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, declined to state whether the horse died from the disease or was euthanized. Officials recommend horse owners consult with their veterinarians to make sure animals are properly vaccinated for EEE, West Nile and other viruses spread by infected insects or ticks. Horses cannot spread EEE or West Nile viruses to humans or other horses.In August, the virus killed a New Hampshire resident and infected a man in Chittenden County. More mosquitoes tested positive for the disease, which prompted the health department to advise that residents of Alburgh, Burlington, Colchester and Swanton limit time outdoors between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.Then, on Sept. 23, health department officials reported that in their most recent testing at the time, from Sept. 8 to 14, no new mosquitoes had tested positive for the virus. They still urged caution, noting that EEE continues to circulate in low rates among birds, from which mosquitoes contract the virus. This season, out of 3,863 groups of mosquitoes the department tested, 82 groups tested positive for EEE and 63 tested positive for the West Nile virus. The department recommends that anyone with symptoms of either disease should reach out to their health care provider. Read the story on VTDigger here: Officials urge caution after Addison County horse tests positive for EEE.