A New Hampshire man is fighting to survive in the ICU after testing positive for three mosquito-borne illnesses.
According to People.com, Joe Casey is the 54-year-old man currently on a ventilator at Exeter Hospital. Casey has tested positive for West Nile Virus, St. Louis encephalitis and eastern equine encephalitis. All three of those illnesses are spread via mosquitoes. Unfortunately, according to his sister-in-law Angela Barker, his caretakers are not sure which illness is making him sick.
Casey first began to feel in August. The father of four has undergone a tracheotomy and remains under constant 24-hour care currently. Notably, the family has set up a GoFundMe, in effort to help offset some of the financial distress this ailment has caused the family.
54 Year-Old Man in ICU Fighting Mosquito-Borne Illnesses
According to data from the CDC, including Casey's positive test for EEE, there are four total cases of the illness in the United States currently. While rare, EEE is a very serious illness to contract. Roughly 30% of those who contract the illness die. Moreover, many survivors of the disease have ongoing neurological problems after beating the illness. Recently, Plymouth, Massachusetts shut down all public parks at night, after the town was identified as having a "high risk status" for EEE.
West Nile Virus is a much more common illness to contract from a mosquito. According to the CDC, Casey's case brings the total on the year to 289 cases in the United States. Notably, 8 in 10 individuals who contract West Nile Virus do not develop symptoms. Being that the disease is much milder, it is also assumed it is contracted more often than is even reported, as many will never know they live with it.
Of the three illnesses, St. Louis encephalitis is certainly the most rare. Casey's positive test would make him the first confirmed case of the illness this year. Despite such rare occurrences, St. Louis encephalitis can also transition from mild in symptoms, to a more dangerous "neuroinvasive disease."
Certainly, Joe Casey and his family hope for better news on the horizon. His story is a shocking reminder of the fragility of day-to-day life, and health.
