Health officials issue warning about West Nile, EEE in several Massachusetts counties

HANOVER, Mass. — Massachusetts health officials announced the first human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) and the first animal case of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in the state this year on Tuesday afternoon.

The Department of Public Health says a man in his 40s was exposed to WNV in Hampden County while the EEE infection was found in a horse that was exposed in Plymouth.

Additionally, mosquito samples collected in Dedham tested positive for EEE while WNV was detected in two Worcester mosquito samples.

The EEE findings raise the risk level to “high” in Plymouth and “low” in Dedham, according to the EEE risk map.

The communities currently at “high risk” in addition to Plymouth are Carver and Middleborough.

The risk of human infection with WNV is moderate in the Greater Boston area and in parts of Bristol, Essex, Hampden, Plymouth, and Worcester counties, according to authorities.

“Historically, August and September are the months when most people are exposed to West Nile virus in Massachusetts. This is also the first year with elevated EEE activity since our last outbreak in 2019 and 2020,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Populations of mosquitoes that can carry and spread these viruses are large this year and we continue to see increases in the number of EEE- and WNV-positive mosquito samples throughout the state. Residents should continue to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.”

Dr. Catherine Brown, Epidemiologist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health echoed similar sentiments.

“This is the time of year that it’s really important people use mosquito repellent regularly when they’re outdoors,” she said.

Dr. Brown says it’s a must for people to protect themselves from mosquitoes when they go outdoors.

“I think both diseases [EEE and WNV] can be severe,” she said.

And while West Nile Virus can be serious, EEE can be deadly.

“About up to half the people who get it tend to pass away from the disease and individuals who survive are often left with some type of permanent neurological disability,” Dr. Brown said.

She offers the following tips to be safe:

• Use mosquito repellent
• Wear long sleeve shirts and pants to cover exposed skin
• Remove standing water
• Install or repair screens
• Avoid outdoor activity at dusk and dawn, especially in high-risk areas like southeastern Massachusetts

And those tips are especially important over the next couple of months until the first frost.

In the last three years there were no human cases of EEE. But one person died from it in 2020 and six died from EEE back in 2019.

To learn more about EEE and WNV and what you can do to prevent the infections, click here.

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