Rare, serious mosquito spread illness found in Upstate South Carolina 17%
By Joyce Orlando17%
8/3/2026, 3:45:02 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 17 faulty reasoning types, including Status Quo Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Framing Effect, with Indoctrination as the most egregious example at 42.5% saturation with 159 hits. Analysis detected 684 faulty-reasoning hits from 374 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 26.1% and a BS Rank of 17% (23,442 of 28,077 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 83.50% of the article peer group.
A person in South Carolina has been infected with a rare and serious viral illness after being bitten by a mosquito.
Oconee County Emergency Services posted on Facebook on Thursday, July 30, that the South Carolina Department of Public Health confirmed a case of La Crosse encephalitis, otherwise known as LACE, in a county resident.
LACE is a rare viral illness that "has been known to be prevalent in the Upstate."
While not spread person to person, health department officials are urging people to take steps to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus when spending time outdoors.
Here's what people should know about the illness and how to prevent mosquito bites.
What is LACE, La Crosse encephalitis?
LACE is considered rare, but does show up in South Carolina.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that cases typically occur in states in the upper Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and Southeast.
The viral illness is spread via infected mosquitoes. specifically and not transmitted person to person.
LACE is most often reported in children under 16.
What are the symptoms of LACE, La Crosse encephalitis?
Many who have contracted this illness never show symptoms, the CDC reports.
But people can also exhibit symptoms including:
Fever
Headache
Nausea
Vomiting
Fatigue
Some could develop a severe form of LACE, including encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
Symptoms of severe illness include:
Paralysis
High fever
Headache
Neck stiffness
Stupor
Disorientation
Coma
Seizures
Muscle weakness
Vision loss
Numbness
Tips to keep mosquitoes away
South Carolina emergency and health officials offer tips to help mitigate the mosquito population and to keep yourself safe.
Eliminate standing water around the home — the mosquitoes that carry LACE breed in small containers, treeholes, old tires, buckets, and clogged gutters, not in ponds or large bodies of water.
Use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on children and adults when outdoors.
Dress protectively — long sleeves and pants during outdoor activity, especially in wooded areas.
Repair window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out of the home.
Supervise outdoor activities near wooded or brushy areas where treehole mosquitoes are more active during daylight hours.
Speakers
1speaker9.1%attributed speech340writer words
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100%flagged-word coverageOconee County Emergency Services
34 attributed words100% of attributed speech80% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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