BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – The Brunswick County Health Department is urging citizens to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes because of the risk of contracting Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

The rare, but serious disease “can result in lengthy illnesses, hospitalization, disability and even death,” said Brunswick County Health Director David Stanley in a news release.

Mosquitoes that spread EEE are species that are found in fresh water floodplains or saltwater marshes, according to Jeff Brown, Brunswick County’s mosquito control supervisor. “People should still pay attention to removing water collection sites that some mosquitoes use as breeding grounds to protect against certain kinds of mosquitoes,” he said.

North Carolina averages about one human EEE case each year, the news release stated, and EEE survivors may suffer from long-term effects to the nervous system. There is a vaccine for horses, but there’s no vaccine for humans.

Stanley urges residents to wear light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and long pants, apply mosquito repellant and avoid being outside at dusk and dawn.