A Michigan artist who died after he contracted the rare Eastern equine encephalitis virus from a mosquito bite “went from perfectly healthy to brain dead” in nine days, a report said.
Gregg McChesney, 64, of Kalamazoo County, died on Aug. 19 “following a nine-day illness” after becoming infected, according to News 8.
He’s the third person this year to die in southwest Michigan from the mosquito-borne illness, the network said.
His brother, Mark McChesney, told the network that Gregg “was [a] perfectly healthy, happy human being and within a matter of nine days, he went from perfectly healthy to brain dead.”
“All of a sudden he had a seizure and next thing you know, he’s in the ER and he just never came out of it.”
Mark described his brother as an outdoorsman with a passion for photography.
“He was a great guy. He loved life,” Mark told News 8. “I don’t think he would have any regrets. I don’t think so because he found himself.”
EEE can affect people of all ages and cause fevers, headaches, lethargy or brain infections and death.
Michigan this year is experiencing its worst outbreak of the virus since 2002, with seven confirmed cases, the report said.