Schumer Calls for Better Coordination to Combat Eastern Equine Encephalitis

With cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis on the rise in New York state, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for increased coordination between local and federal agencies. From the New York Public News Network, WAMC’s Aaron Shellow-Lavine has more.Following the first human EEE death in New York in more than a decade last month in Ulster County, the Democrat announced a two-pronged approach to controlling the mosquito-borne illness Tuesday in Glens Falls.Schumer called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to survey and track mosquitos.He said, “The national organizations have a unique ability to track these mosquitos to see how to deal best with these deadly diseases. And with climate change the patterns of these mosquitos has changed, so top-notch new federal information can really help out our localities fight these mosquitos which can be deadly.”Schumer also pushed for an additional $65 million in funding for the CDC’s Vector-Borne Diseases programs. EEE has been found in horses across the state this year, but infected horses cannot spread the virus to humans. Human cases have also been identified in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire.