Second human case off EEE confirmed
A second case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis has been found in a male between the ages of 19-30 from eastern Worcester County, state health officials announced.
The risk level in seven communities has been raised to “critical” as a result, officials added.
The communities under the alert now include Hopkinton, Grafton, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southboro, Upton, and Westboro. Easton, Norton and Raynham are also at critical risk. In addition, Framingham and Marlboro and Millbury, Northboro and Sutton are considered at high risk.
The Andover Health Division was also notified Friday that two mosquito pools in the Abbot Street area tested positive for the EEE virus. The mosquitoes were trapped and were confirmed to be a species that is known to bite humans.
As a result, the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District is using a supplemental mosquito trap in the area this weekend. Larvicide will also be deployed in the coming days.
Health officials in Andover are reminding residents to avoid mosquito bites and keep mosquitoes out of the home.
The Andover Board of Health will meet Monday night to discuss the positive EEE test results and it is likely that spraying for mosquitoes will begin Tuesday or Wednesday night.
Communities in Southeastern Massachusetts are on a high alert for critical EEE risk. Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed the first human case of EEE in a older man from southern Plymouth County.
The virus reportedly put the man in a coma. That was the first human case of EEE in Massachusetts since 2013. The nine southeastern communities now at critical risk are Carver, Lakeville, Marion, Middleborough, Rochester and Wareham in Plymouth County, and Acushnet, Freetown and New Bedford in Bristol County.
Peak season for EEE runs from August to September. The last two outbreaks of the potentially deadly disease occurred in Massachusetts in 2004-2006 and 2010-2012.