State health officials report first human EEE case of 2020 in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is reporting the first case of Eastern equine encephalitis in a person of this year.On Monday, the first human EEE case of 2020 in the Bay State was confirmed in a boy under the age of 18. According to the DPH, he was exposed to the virus in Plymouth County.As a result, the risk level in the Plymouth County communities of Carver and Middleborough has been raised to critical.The board of health for the town of Halifax, which is also in Plymouth County, posted on its Facebook page that the boy who was confirmed EEE positive on Monday has recovered from the virus.In a Facebook post, Middleborough Town Manager Robert Nunes said the DPH told his office that a human case of EEE or West Nile virus was reported in the town. All outdoor activities in the town have been banned from dusk to dawn.In addition, three more Plymouth County communities are currently at a “high” risk level: Kingston, Plympton and Rochester.There were 12 human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2019 with six deaths, according to state health officials. Click here for EEE, West Nile virus detection in MassachusettsMaps for EEE, WNV risk levels in Massachusetts“EEE is rare, but it is a serious disease and public health concern, and we remind residents of the need to protect themselves from mosquito bites as EEE activity increases,” said Dr. Monica Bharel, the Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner. “The single best prevention tool continues to be avoiding mosquito bites by using repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants, weather permitting, and avoiding outdoor activity between the hours of dusk and dawn in the highest risk areas.”The risk level was raised to high in Plympton on Monday. Town health officials announced the discovery and said all outdoor activities on town property will be banned from dusk to dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. So far, seven mosquito samples from Plympton have tested positive for EEE, according to state health officials.The town of Carver has also banned all outdoor activities from dusk until dawn. Twelve separate mosquito samples in Carver have tested positive for EEE. DPH is working with the local communities, local Mosquito Control Projects, and other mosquito control experts to coordinate surveillance and discuss appropriate public health response activities.The Plymouth County communities of Bridgewater, Halifax, Lakeville, Plymouth and Wareham are at “moderate” risk of EEE. Meanwhile, the communities of Raynham and Taunton in nearby Bristol County are also at a moderate risk level for the virus.The DPH reports that the EEE virus has been found in 29 mosquito samples this year, including species that are capable of spreading the virus to people.The EEE virus also has been confirmed in tested mosquito samples in Franklin County, which increased the risk level of EEE to moderate in the communities of Orange, Athol, Wendell and New Salem. One mosquito collected in Pepperell, which is in Middlesex County, tested positive for the virus.