Heather and Aaron Walsen enjoy time with their kids Lily, 2, and Bob, 4, at Deering Oaks in Portland on Saturday. They use DEET and citronella to repel mosquitoes. Sofia Aldinio/Staff Photographer

Following more than a dozen reports of mosquito-borne illnesses in animals in Maine, state officials are considering declaring a public health emergency.

State health and agriculture officials on Friday confirmed a case of eastern equine encephalitis in a horse from Somerset County, making it the third animal to be diagnosed with the disease.

Two emus in Penobscot County were also infected with EEE. Maine has also reported 15 cases of West Nile virus in wild birds. Such diseases were rarely detected in Maine until recent years.

The state’s Arboviral Public Health Panel recommended the public health emergency declaration – which is distinct from a state of emergency like the one declared during the COVID-19 pandemic – during a Board of Pesticides Control meeting on Friday. If approved by Gov. Janet Mills, it would be the first-ever public health emergency declared in response to mosquito-borne illnesses.

A public health emergency declaration may allow municipalities to more rapidly receive permits or implement other interventions they would not be able to without the emergency, health officials said in a June town hall meeting about the viruses.

The rise in mosquito-borne diseases in New England has been linked to climate change, as longer falls create more opportunities for the insects to breed and bite before the frost kills them off.

In 2023, there were 17 cases of EEE and three cases of West Nile virus in animals, according to the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

PROTECTING YOURSELF

The state primarily tracks three mosquito-borne illnesses: EEE, West Nile virus and Jamestown Canyon virus.

Disease-carrying mosquitoes that transmit the viruses to animals can also bite and infect people, though confirmed cases in humans are rare.

A New Hampshire man died of EEE in August, according to state officials there, and some Massachusetts towns have urged residents to avoid going outside after dusk and cancel outdoor activities.

Jamestown Canyon virus has also been found in four “mosquito pools” tested as a part of routine surveillance.

While people interviewed Saturday in the Portland area were mostly unaware of the rise in mosquito-borne viruses, some said they are taking precautions against mosquito bites.

Lesley Hurley and her son Liam take a walk with their two dogs in Hinckley Park, South Portland on Saturday. They use natural spray on their dogs before walks. Sofia Aldinio/ Staff Photographer

The CDC recommends using EPA-registered insect repellents that list active ingredients like DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or the chemical compound IR3535. Other tips include limiting outside activity at dusk through dawn, when mosquitoes are most active, wearing long sleeves and pants and draining sources of standing water.

“We spray the dogs with flea and tick bug repellent when we come into the woods, and then we use an all-natural bug repellent when we go out when I know we’re going to be sitting, like if we’re going to be around a campfire or watching an outdoor movie,” said Lesley Hurley, of South Portland, who was out walking her two dogs with her 10-year-old son, Liam, in the Hinckley Park woods on Saturday.

Heather and Aaron Walsen, of Portland, frequent Deering Oaks Park in Portland with their kids, Lily, 2, and Bob, 4. The couple said that they tend to hear more about tick-borne illnesses than those carried by mosquitoes, but try to be vigilant about protecting their kids outside.

“We do bug checks on the kids every night,” Aaron Walsen said.

The family uses DEET and citronella products to stave off mosquitoes while the kids play outside.

“(Mosquito-borne illnesses are) on my mind when I put my children outside,” Heather Walsen said.

For Ignacio Gomez, a cultivator from Brunswick, working outside means mosquito bites are all too common. Gomez, who visited the wooded trail at Hinckley Park in South Portland on Saturday with his children, Luna, 10, and Ari, 1, said he uses a lemongrass oil repellent to keep the bugs away.

“It’s the first thing I do because early in the morning or late in the afternoon, they get you,” Gomez said.

Most people infected with mosquito-borne diseases show mild symptoms or none at all, meaning that some human cases may remain unreported. Mild symptoms may include fever and chills, head and body aches, nausea, swollen glands, tiredness and diarrhea.

In severe cases, symptoms of mosquito-borne illnesses can include disorientation, muscle weakness, neck stiffness, brain inflammation and coma. There are currently no treatments available for the viruses, though some symptoms can be treated with over-the-counter drugs.

“Depending on the virus, about 10-30% of people who show severe symptoms die from the infection,” Haris Sohail, a vectorborne and zoonotic epidemiologist at Maine CDC, said at the June town hall. “And up to 50% of people who survive severe symptoms will have significant lifelong complications.”

There have been two human cases of EEE in Maine since 2014, one of which was fatal, Sohail said. Five people have tested positive for West Nile Virus in Maine in the last decade, though no one has died from the disease in the state. In the case of Jamestown Canyon virus, there have been four people diagnosed since 2014 and one death.