Deadly mosquito virus scare moves Connecticut-South Florida game to earlier time

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A mosquito-borne virus that caused a scare in Connecticut forced Saturday’s game between the Connecticut Huskies and the South Florida Bulls to be moved to the afternoon.

Eastern equine encephalitis has claimed the lives of at least two people in Connecticut this year and the mosquitos that carry the virus are most active from dusk until dawn.

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The scare forced the college football game between the Huskies and the Bulls to move from 7 p.m. ET to noon.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus is a “rare cause of brain infections. Only a few cases are reported in the United States each year. Most occur in eastern or Gulf Coast states. Approximately 30 percent of people with EEE die and many survivors have ongoing neurologic problems.”

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UConn said to help minimize the potential exposure to the virus it is “recommending to all units that outdoor activities and events scheduled to take place anytime between dusk and dawn be rescheduled to another time during the day, if possible, for the time being,” according to FOX61.

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“Though the risk is low, as a precaution, we want to take any reasonable steps we can to help reduce the exposure of student-athletes, staff and the public to this illness,” UConn President Thomas Katsouleas said in a statement. “I want to thank the conference, USF and our own division of athletics for their flexibility.”