I was infected with three fatal brain diseases at once after feeling a ‘bite’

A father was left fighting for his life after contracting three mosquito-borne viruses at the same time in an astonishingly rare case.

Joe Casey, 55, was in a coma for three weeks after he was bitten in his hometown in New Hampshire in August. When he woke up, he couldn’t walk or talk.

The father of four contracted Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus and St. Louis Encephalitis, believed to be from a mosquito carrying all three pathogens.

Doctors were shocked because the three viruses together infect only about 1,000 Americans per year.

The toll of fighting all three diseases devastated Mr Casey’s immune system, causing his brain to swell with excess fluid, putting intense pressure on brain cells.

Mr. Casey told WCAX: “Don’t underestimate the size of the bad guy here. You just have to be ready and prepared.”

This week, days after Mr Casey was finally released from hospital, he urged Americans to remain vigilant against disease-ridden mosquitoes, which are becoming increasingly common in the US.

He told it WCAX: ‘Don’t underestimate the size of the villain here. You just have to be ready and prepared.”

He also urged parents to use mosquito sprays on themselves and their children outside. It is unclear whether he was wearing repellent when he was bitten.

EEE is a virus that circulates in areas with freshwater wetlands, such as the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Great Lakes and the Caribbean.

Mosquitoes spread the disease to mammals such as horses and humans, and humans cannot spread the disease to each other.

However, the virus is extremely rare in humans, with just under a dozen cases per year.

It is expected that one in three patients with EEE will die, and those who survive often face a host of long-term effects, including brain damage, personality changes, seizures, intellectual disability and paralysis due to swelling of the brain.

So far this year, 16 Americans have been infected with EEE, including Steven Perry, who is also from New Hampshire. The 41-year-old died in mid-August after becoming the state’s first human case in a decade.

This year, a number of Americans have died from mosquito-borne diseases such as EEE. EEE is spread only through mosquitoes and kills up to one in three patients

The map above shows the provinces where EEE has been detected so far this year. The dark blue areas represent places with human cases

Mr Casey spent three weeks in a coma and a further seven weeks in intensive physiotherapy as the illness left him unable to walk or talk. He is now warning others to remain vigilant about repelling mosquitoes

Mr. Casey also tested positive for St. Louis Encephalitis, which affects only a few dozen Americans each year.

Spread by mosquitoes in the Americas, humans can become infected when mosquitoes feed on infected birds and bite humans.

The US reported 20 human cases last year. One in five patients dies from the disease.

Finally, Mr. Casey was found to have antibodies to the West Nile virus, which resulted in Dr. Anthony Fauci being hospitalized this summer.

He said that while he doesn’t remember much, he does remember “never feeling so sick in my life.”

Cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been rising in recent years, with around 2,500 cases last year – more than double the 1,130 in 2022.

However, experts say these numbers are likely a huge undercount because most people who contract the virus are not tested for it.

There are approximately 150 deaths from the disease each year. So far in 2024, 289 cases have been reported in 33 states.