Second case of deadly mosquito-borne virus detected in Massachusetts as county closes parks and fields

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Massachusetts reported its second confirmed case of the rare but potentially deadly Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus on Thursday.

The individual was identified as a woman in her thirties, who had been exposed in an area of Plymouth County that was aerially sprayed with insecticide on Tuesday night. She was infected before spraying in the community had been completed.

The department did not say anything about the woman’s current condition, but assured that there have been no changes in the area’s risk level, currently determined to be high.

A horse in the same area was also exposed: the second confirmed case in a Massachusetts horse this year.

“This evidence of the spread of EEE to a person and a horse in Plymouth County before aerial spraying confirms risk in the area,” Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said in a release.

“We expect that the aerial spraying will help prevent risk for EEE from continuing to escalate in the area, but it does not eliminate it completely. We are asking people to be consistent about taking steps to prevent mosquito bites.”

The Town of Plymouth recently closed public parks and fields from dusk until dawn, peak biting times for many mosquitoes.

The state’s first human case of the virus was reported on August 16. The individual was identified as a man in his 80s who had been hospitalized after being exposed to the virus in Worcester County. The department declined to provide further details on the case due to patient privacy.

Vermont health officials also reported a virus case in a Chittenden County man in his 40s, who was hospitalized in July and left the hospital a week later. The man was not identified.

In New Hampshire, 41-year-old Hampstead resident Steven Perry died after contracting the virus. He was the state’s first case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in a decade. His family told Boston 25 News this week that he had no underlying medical conditions and that they did not know where he had contracted the virus.

Although a tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still only shows four cases on its website, this news brings the total number of reported cases to six. Other cases were identified in Wisconsin and New Jersey.

Spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes, approximately 30 percent of those who are infected die, and survivors are often left with neurological problems. There are currently no vaccines or medicines to treat or prevent the disease, which affects people of all ages.

Concern about Eastern Equine Encephalitis also comes amid concerns over the spread of West Nile virus, which has been confirmed in more than half of U.S. states this year, according to the CDC.

Yesterday, Illinois and Wisconsin reported their first deaths from West Nile virus, including two in the Badger State. A Missouri teenager was left paralyzed and on a ventilator after contracting West Nile, according to a report from NBC News.