May 25, 2013
A man and a child died at a Brewton hospital within 24-hours of each other from a disease that may have been Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
If confirmed, they would be the first known victims from the disease in Alabama since 1996.
The medical examiner for Excambia County said both victims were admitted to the hospital on July 25. He said an elderly man from Castleberry died that night and the child died the next day.
They both lived within six miles of a farm where a horse recently died of the rare but deadly mosquito borne disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are conducting tests to confirm the cause of their deaths.
