equine encephalitis

variants: or less commonly equine encephalomyelitis

Definition of equine encephalitis

: any of three virus diseases chiefly of equines and humans in various parts of North and South America that are transmitted especially by mosquitoes, are characterized in humans by flu-like symptoms which often progress to encephalitis and sometimes to coma and death, and are caused by three togaviruses (species Eastern equine encephalitis virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, and Western equine encephalitis virus of the genus Alphavirus)

Examples of equine encephalitis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Eastern equine encephalitis has been on everyone's minds for the past month or so. — courant.com, "Oct. 17, 2019: Vacation mode 🌴 Edition 4," 17 Oct. 2019 In an average year, the U.S. sees only seven human cases of the rare and severe neurologic disease Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE. — Jamie Ducharme, Time, "Mosquito-Borne Illness EEE Has Killed 11 People So Far in 2019. Here's What to Know About the Disease," 3 Oct. 2019 Eastern equine encephalitis is a rare but potentially fatal illness caused by mosquito bites. — Faith Karimi, CNN, "Connecticut reports its first death from Eastern equine encephalitis in years as the outbreak grows," 22 Sep. 2019 The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued an update Tuesday on eastern equine encephalitis, saying there were deaths in Cass and Van Buren counties. — CBS News, "Michigan sounds alarm on mosquito-borne virus after 3 deaths," 18 Sep. 2019 Of them all, Eastern equine encephalitis is the deadliest. — Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA TODAY, "Eastern equine encephalitis: Mom shares how she survived the rare mosquito-borne virus," 10 Sep. 2019 Of them all, Eastern equine encephalitis is the deadliest. — Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA TODAY, "Eastern equine encephalitis: Mom shares how she survived the rare mosquito-borne virus," 10 Sep. 2019 Of them all, Eastern equine encephalitis is the deadliest. — Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA TODAY, "Eastern equine encephalitis: Mom shares how she survived the rare mosquito-borne virus," 10 Sep. 2019 Eastern equine encephalitis is a potentially fatal disease that can cause brain inflammation and severe neurological complications, federal officials say. — BostonGlobe.com, "Five-year-old Sophia Garabedian, the Sudbury girl stricken with EEE, has been moved out of the intensive care unit at Boston Children’s Hospital and is continuing her recovery, according to an organizer of her family’s online fund-raiser.," 14 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'equine encephalitis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

23 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Equine encephalitis.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equine%20encephalitis. Accessed 6 December 2019.

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More Definitions for equine encephalitis

equine encephalitis

noun

Medical Definition of equine encephalitis

: any of three virus diseases chiefly of equines and humans in various parts of North and South America that are transmitted especially by mosquitoes, are characterized in humans by flu-like symptoms which often progress to encephalitis and sometimes to coma and death, and are caused by three togaviruses of the genus Alphavirus (species Eastern equine encephalitis virus, Western equine encephalitis virus, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus):

a : one that occurs in the eastern U.S. and Canada

— called also eastern equine encephalitis, eastern equine encephalomyelitis

b : one that occurs in the western U.S. and Canada

— called also western equine encephalitis, western equine encephalomyelitis

c : one that occurs from northern So. America to Mexico

— called also Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis