Western Equine Encephalitis

CLINICAL FEATURES

  • Symptoms range from mild flu-like illness to frank encephalitis, coma and death

AETIOLOGIC AGENT

  • Western equine encephalitis virus, member of the family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus. Closely related to eastern and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses

INCIDENCE

  • 639 confirmed cases in the U.S. since 1964

SEQUELAE

  • Mild to severe neurologic deficits in survivors

COSTS

  • Total case costs range from $21,000 for transiently infected individuals to $3 million for severely infected individuals
  • Insecticide applications can cost as much as $1.4 million depending on the size of area treated

TRANSMISSION

  • Mosquito-borne

RISK GROUPS

  • Residents of endemic areas and visitors
  • Persons with outdoor work and recreational activities

SURVEILLANCE

  • National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

TRENDS

  • Epidemic disease that is difficult to predict
  • Risk exposure increases as population expands into endemic areas

CHALLENGES

  • No licensed vaccine for human use
  • No effective therapeutic drug
  • Unknown overwintering cycle
  • Control measures expensive
  • Limited financial support of surveillance and prevention

OPPORTUNITIES

  • Mosquito control
  • Education of health-care workers and the public
  • Integrated State and Federal prevention efforts
  • Vaccine development
  • Therapeutic development

RESEARCH PRIORITIES

  • Improve predictive capabilities
  • Develop and evaluate vaccines
  • Develop and evaluate therapeutics
  • Improve diagnostic and virus detection tests

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