Person from Penobscot County tests positive for EEE [Video]

PENOBSCOT COUNTY, Maine — A person from Penobscot County has tested presumptive positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). 

The case was “locally acquired,” because the person has not traveled outside of the state, according to a press release from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) Thursday. The presumptive positive test result was sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. 

The person became sick with severe symptoms in early October and is still in the hospital, the Maine CDC said. 

This is the first human case of EEE in Maine since 2015, according to the Maine CDC. 

EEE is a virus that is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. It cannot spread from human to human, or between human and animal, according to the Maine CDC. 

“Even though the risk of mosquito bites …