GREENVILLE, Maine — Because 14 horses have died recently from Eastern equine encephalitis, a Greenville man hopes residents take the advice of state health officials to protect themselves from mosquitoes, the carriers of the virus.
Harold “Gus” Harris, 70, knows the devastation the infection can cause to a human. The Greenville native and long-time businessman contracted encephalitis in 1983 and found his life changed significantly.
“It’s a mystery how I got this,” Harris said during a recent interview. He had always been healthy and had enjoyed the outdoors and, in particular, had loved to play basketball and golf before he contracted the virus that initially causes flulike symptoms.
The father of two recalled the winter of 1983, when his health quickly failed. He said he started having headaches that were followed by a stiff neck. Then he began experiencing problems with muscle coordination and his speech became slurred.
“I was scared,” Harris said, crediting his wife, Carol, and his children for their support.
After a series of medical tests done both locally and in Portland, Harris learned he had encephalitis and was told that it likely came from a mosquito bite.
“It was in the winter, which was crazy,” Harris recalled. The possibility existed that a mosquito that carried the virus had gotten into his house, he noted.
The respected and well-known pharmacist said doctors tried a variety of medicines until steroids seemed to bring some relief.
While Harris has slurred speech and an awkward gait today, he said it could have been much worse.
“I feel that my speech is all right, but people have a hard time understanding what I say,” Harris said. From therapy, he said he has learned to slow down and try to enunciate his words more clearly. Despite his afflictions, Harris has continued to work every day in his pharmacy over the years. With his son, Michael, now in the pharmacy, Harris said he has slowed down some.
While the state does not have a record of anyone contracting eastern equine encephalitis, it is possible that physicians did not report Harris’ condition to the Bureau of Health at the time, according to Dr. Dora Mills, Maine’s public health director.
In an e-mail this week, Mills said there are many types of encephalitis, a term that means a brain infection, and people get encephalitis every year. “Encephalitis is contracted in a variety of ways, most are viral, though in Maine, the vast majority are not mosquito-borne,” Mills said.
Dr. Kathleen Gensheimer, the state epidemiologist, earlier this year said she had never seen EEE until recently.
Symptoms of EEE, which show up three to 10 days after a person is infected, could include a high fever, stiff neck, headache, loss of energy and inflammation of the brain. The disease worsens quickly and some people may go into a coma within a week, according to information provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Mills said that while it would be unusual to contract EEE in the winter in Maine, since mosquitoes are not commonly out then, other types of encephalitis have been seen during winter months. She said health officials had thought Maine was too far north for EEE, but have found out otherwise by the deaths of 14 horses — 11 confirmed and three suspected to have EEE. The horses had not been vaccinated against the virus because EEE had not been reported in the state before that, she said.
The horses were located in Acton, Berwick, Gorham, Windsor, Unity, Troy, Thorndike, Newport and Stetson.
Mills said there are likely many areas in between those communities and other areas that are at risk, but there are simply no unvaccinated horses in the area to have been stricken. “I would not rule out any area of the state as being at risk,” she said.
“Overall, I think this disease heralds in the need for a cultural change to one that says we try to avoid mosquito bites,” Mills said. While many people take mosquito bites in stride, those mosquitoes that carry the EEE virus drive home that simple precautions should be taken to avoid the pests, she noted.
Harris agrees. “You just never know,” he said.
More information on EEE can be found at the Department of Health and Human Services Web site at www.maine.gov/DHHS/boh/ddc/epi/vector-borne/eee/faq.shtml.