Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)

Eastern equine encephalitis is a zoonotic arboviral illness. It has wide distribution—North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Seventy horses died of encephalitis in 1831 in Massachusetts, USA. The epizootic was recognized as EEE. Regular epizootics followed. The causative agent was identified in 1933 from infected horse brain. In 1938, 30 children died of encephalitis in the same region of the north-eastern United States where epizootic in horses occurred establishing zoonoses.