The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a central New York resident is the first person in the state and second in the country this year to be diagnosed with a potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus.
The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports the Onondaga County Health Department announced Tuesday that the unidentified adult Salina resident is in critical condition with eastern equine encephalitis.
Only about five to 10 human cases of the illness are reported each year in the country. One other case was reported in Louisiana earlier this year.
About one-third of those sickened by the virus die and most survivors suffer brain damage. A 4-year-old Oswego County girl died from it in 2011.
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