Rare virus takes ex-pitcher's life

DUNNELLON -- A former high school baseball coach who had briefly pitched for the Atlanta Braves died after a yearlong battle with Eastern equine encephalitis, which he contracted after being bitten by a mosquito.

Mike Payne, 40, who coached at Dunnellon High School, died Sunday at home of complications from the disease, a rare virus contracted from mosquito bites.

Payne was hospitalized with Eastern equine encephalitis on Aug. 5, 2001. Officials said he contracted it while working in his yard. Payne had been living with his family for seven months, but used a wheelchair and had lost the ability to speak.

"This is a real big shock," former Dunnellon player Shane Baly told the Citrus County Chronicle. "He was always a real big man and one day he is bit by a mosquito and the next day he is a vegetable."

Payne, who was born in Woonsocket, R.I., pitched in three games for Atlanta in 1984, losing his only decision while posting a 6.36 earned run average.

All strains of encephalitis, a brain-swelling disease, produce the same symptoms: headache, fever, fatigue, dizziness, light sensitivity and confusion. Eastern equine encephalitis has been found in horses and birds throughout Florida but is rare in humans.

A 9-year-old Okaloosa County boy died from the disease last year.

Services for Payne are scheduled Saturday at Dunnellon High.

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