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Information for Health Care Providers
Maine CDC Health Advisory
August 3, 2022
Arbovirus Update for Healthcare Providers
The purpose of this health advisory is to alert clinicians to the potential for human arboviral disease activity in Maine and to consider testing for mosquito-borne arboviruses in patients presenting with unexplained encephalitis, meningitis, or high fever (≤100.4°F or 38°C) during the summer and fall. Consider testing for Powassan virus year-round.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE), Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), and West Nile virus (WNV) are serious arboviral infections that are transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Maine reported one human case of JCV in 2021. Additionally, Powassan virus (POW) is an arboviral disease transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. Maine identified three cases of POW in 2021 and four more cases to date in 2022. Two of the POW cases in 2022 died. Although rare, these diseases have potentially severe and even fatal consequences for those who contract them.
