La Crosse virus is the second-most common virus in the US spread by mosquitoes – and can cause severe neurological damage in rare cases

People catch La Crosse disease primarily from the bite of the eastern tree-hole mosquito – although two other species may also carry the virus. Nipol Plobmuang/EyeEm via Getty Images

For the Laudick family of Greensburg, Indiana, life forever changed on Aug. 5, 2013. That was the day 4-year-old Leah Laudick told her mom, Shelly, that she had a bad headache.

Two days later, Leah was hospitalized nearby with worsening headaches and a slightly elevated white blood cell count. She slept for most of the day and by Aug. 9 was largely unresponsive.