A rare but deadly mosquito virus-borne disease is forcing a Massachusetts town to close its parks and fields every evening. Four other cities are asking the population to avoid going out at night.
Deadly Mosquito Virus Forces Massachusetts Towns to Close Parks at Night
Municipalities are concerned about Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Health authorities announced last week that an octogenarian had contracted the disease, the first human case discovered in Massachusetts since 2020.
The City of Plymouth, located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Boston, announced Friday that it was closing public outdoor recreation facilities from dusk to dawn daily after a city horse was infected with the disease.
Separately, state health officials warned that a group of four towns south of Worcester — Douglas, Oxford, Sutton and Webster — were at “critical risk” after an Oxford man contracted the disease. virus.
Local and state health officials have asked residents in these cities to avoid peak deadly mosquito virus-biting times by ending outdoor activities at 6 p.m. until September 30 and at 5 p.m. thereafter, until first frost.
Residents are also recommended to use mosquito repellents when outdoors and to drain any standing water around their home.
Jennifer Callahan, Oxford’s city manager, wrote in a memo that the family of the man who caught the virus in mid-August had contacted her office.
“They want people to be aware that this is an extremely serious illness that has terrible physical and emotional consequences, even if the person manages to live,” Ms. Callahan wrote.
She said the infected person often told his family that he had never been bitten by deadly mosquito virus. But just before he became symptomatic, he told them he had been stung. She said the man was still hospitalized and was “fighting courageously” against the virus.
Ms Callahan added that the family is asking people to take public health advice seriously and do everything they can to protect themselves.
The presence of the virus in Massachusetts this year was confirmed last month in a deadly mosquito virus sample, and has been found in other deadly mosquito virus across the state since then. During the 2019 outbreak, six deaths were recorded among 12 confirmed cases in Massachusetts. The outbreak continued the following year with five more cases and another death.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis: A Rare but Deadly Mosquito-Borne Threat
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that although rare, Eastern Equine Encephalitis is very serious and about 30% of those infected die from it. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures.
Those who survive are often disabled for life and few make a full recovery, according to Massachusetts officials. The disease is prevalent in birds, and although humans and some other mammals can get EEE, they do not spread the disease.
According to the CDC, only a few cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis are reported each year in the United States, with most infections occurring in the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico states.