A rare but deadly disease transmitted by mosquitoes has one Massachusetts town closing its parks and fields each evening. Four other towns are urging residents to avoid outdoor activities at night.
The concern centers around eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). State health officials announced last week that a man in his 80s had contracted the disease, marking the first human case in Massachusetts since 2020.
Plymouth, located about 40 miles southeast of Boston, declared on Friday that it would close public outdoor recreation facilities from dusk until dawn each day. The decision came after a horse in the town was infected with the virus.
Meanwhile, state health officials identified a cluster of four towns south of Worcester—Douglas, Oxford, Sutton, and Webster—as being at “critical risk” after a man from Oxford contracted the virus.
State and local health officials are urging residents in these towns to finish outdoor activities by 6 p.m. until September 30, and then by 5 p.m. after that, until the first hard frost hits. Additionally, they recommend using mosquito repellents when outdoors and eliminating any standing water around homes to reduce mosquito breeding grounds.
Jennifer Callahan, Oxford’s town manager, revealed in a memo that the family of the infected man, who contracted the virus in mid-August, had contacted her office. “They want people to be aware this is an extremely serious disease with terrible physical and emotional consequences, regardless if the person manages to live,” Callahan wrote.
The infected man had often told his family he never got bitten by mosquitoes, but shortly before showing symptoms, he mentioned he had been bitten. Currently, he remains hospitalized and is “courageously battling” the virus. The family urges everyone to take public health advice seriously and protect themselves.
The presence of the virus in Massachusetts this year was confirmed last month through a mosquito sample, and the virus has since been detected in other mosquitoes across the state. An outbreak in 2019 resulted in six deaths among 12 confirmed cases in Massachusetts. The outbreak continued the following year with five more cases and another death.
There are no vaccines or treatments for EEE. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that although EEE is rare, it is very severe, with about 30% of infected individuals dying. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, and seizures. Survivors often face permanent disabilities, and full recovery is rare, according to Massachusetts authorities. While the disease is prevalent in birds, humans, and some other mammals can also contract EEE, but they do not spread it further.
The CDC reports that only a few cases of EEE occur in the U.S. each year, predominantly in the eastern and Gulf Coast states.
