What is the EEE virus – how deadly is it and why is it closing parks in the US?

Published

11 months ago

August 28, 2024

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A man has died and public parks are being closed after cases of a deadly mosquito-borne virus in two US states.

The man died in New Hampshire after being hospitalised due to “severe central nervous system disease” caused by eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), state authorities said.

A man in his 80s has also caught the virus in Massachusetts this week, prompting the rollout of insecticide sprays and public parks being closed from dusk until dawn, the state public health department said.

There have been five cases of the virus this year, seven reported last year, and 38 before the coronavirus pandemic in 2019.

What is EEE – and why is it so deadly?

Eastern equine encephalitis is spread by infected mosquitoes often found in freshwater hardwood swamps.

It was first detected in horses in Massachusetts in the 1800s.

Although human-to-human transmission is extremely uncommon, the virus is deadly – a third of those who contract it will die, usually around 10 days after being bitten.

Symptoms, which usually develop between four and 10 days after becoming infected, include:

Fever;
Body aches;
Vomiting and diarrhoea;
Extreme tiredness;
Encephalitis (brain inflammation).

The US public health body, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), warns that those who do recover can suffer serious long-term neurological damage.

This includes intellectual impairment, personality disorders, seizures, paralysis, and cranial nerve dysfunction.

Some people are asymptomatic, it adds.

How common is it – and is there a cure?

Cases are very rare – with only a few logged in the US each year. Most of them occur in eastern or Gulf Coast states during peak mosquito season – in August and September.

As such, no vaccine has been developed, and symptoms are treated with anti-viral drugs, but there is no ‘cure’.

New Hampshire state epidemiologist Dr Benjamin Chan said the current risk will only cease when “a hard frost” kills the carrier mosquitoes.

Humans and horses are considered ‘dead end’ hosts, so do not pass on the disease once infected.

Records show one case of EE being transmitted from one organ donor to three recipients. The death in New Hampshire is the first recorded this year.

How is it prevented?

Both New Hampshire and Massachusetts are taking measures to help prevent people from getting infected. The CDC advises the following to avoid getting bitten;

Use bug spray with DEET or picaridin when outside;
Dress in loose-fitting clothes that cover the arms and legs;
Empty standing water receptacles – including dog bowls, flower pots, bird baths, and children’s toys.

US

Donald Trump wades into Sydney Sweeney ad debate

Published

19 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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Donald Trump wades into Sydney Sweeney ad debate

Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.

The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.

It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.

In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.

Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”

Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”

Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.

But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.

The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.

In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”

Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.

Trump knows all publicity is good publicity

They say all publicity is good publicity, and Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad is certainly notching up the column inches, especially now Donald Trump has intervened.

The US president must have been breathlessly excited when he found out Sweeney was a registered Republican because he wrote a Truth Social post in support of her before deleting it twice and reposting three times to correct various spelling and grammatical errors.

He clearly could not wait to get involved in the discourse.

“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there,” he wrote. “Go get ’em Sydney!”

In any other era, the president weighing in so heavily on one side of a pop culture issue would’ve been unusual.

But the current president knows people are talking about the ad around their dinner tables and at parties right now. By injecting himself into the discussion, they will now be talking about him too.

In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.

“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.

Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.

US

Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

Published

2 days ago

August 4, 2025

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Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.

The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.

“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.

Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.

The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.

Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.

Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.

Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.

The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.

In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.

US

Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

Published

3 days ago

August 3, 2025

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Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.

Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.

After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.

On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.

Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.

O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.

He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.