Summer’s rainy season means mosquitoes are back with a vengeance, and so mosquito-born diseases are returning, too.

The Martin County Health Department warned Tuesday that two sentinel chickens from its early warning flock have tested positive for Eastern equine encephalitis, a viral disease that can be fatal to horses, and on rare occasions sickens humans, too.

It’s the first time that eastern equine encephalitis has been seen in Martin County in 30 years, the Martin County Health Department said.

Several mosquito-born germs that are dangerous to humans use birds as hosts, and so health agencies keep outdoor chicken flocks, taking blood samples as a way to track those diseases. Read More…