Mayewski quoted in News Center Maine report on rare mosquito-borne virus
Paul Mayewski, Distinguished Maine Professor in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences and director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, was cited in a News Center Maine report about Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE. The rare, mosquito-borne virus can be deadly. In Maine, there have been no human cases, but in nearby Massachusetts there have been 12, including three deaths. Residents of York County have been urged to take precautions after a horse contracted the virus and mosquitoes in a pool in Lebanon also tested positive for EEE, according to the report. Some climate experts say the hotter summers, milder winters, and more frequent and heavier rains have led to larger populations of mosquitoes. “Diseases that are to the south that require warmer conditions are going to appear in Maine,” Mayewski said.