High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE), commonly called sleeping sickness (not to be confused with Trypanosomiasis) or Triple E, is a zoonotic alphavirus and arbovirus present in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. EEE was first recognized in Massachusetts, USA in 1831 when 75 horses died of encephalitic illness. Epizootics in horses have continued to occur regularly in the United States. EEE is found today in the eastern part of the country and is often associated with coastal plains.