Infection
EEE detected in mosquitoes collected in two Mass. communities
NOW. THE FIRST TWO HUMAN CASES OF WEST NILE VIRUS THIS SEASON ARE NOW CONFIRMED IN MASSACHUSETTS. HEALTH OFFICIALS NOW WARNING RESIDENTS ABOUT A POTENTIAL INCREASE IN INFECTIONS. SO HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IS DR. DANIEL KURITZKES, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT THE BRIGHAM. DR. SAUGUS, GREAT TO HAVE YOU AS ALWAYS. GREAT TO BE BACK WITH YOU. ALL RIGHT, DR. CRETSKENS, LET’S TALK ABOUT WEST NILE FIRST. WHAT IS IT? AND HOW DOES IT GET SPREAD SO WEST NILE IS A VIRUS THAT’S AN ARBOVIRUS BECAUSE IT’S SPREAD BY MOSQUITOES AND IT IS ALSO A NEUROTROPIC VIRUS, MEANING THAT IT CAN CAUSE INFECTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. OKAY. SO THE STATE SAYING MOSQUITO POPULATIONS, THEY’RE, QUOTE, FAIRLY LARGE THIS YEAR. IT’S BEEN A WET SEASON. IF THERE ARE MORE MOSQUITOES, DOES THAT MEAN THERE’S MORE POTENTIAL FOR WEST NILE? IT WOULD. THAT WOULD SEEM TO MAKE SENSE. THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. I MEAN, THE THINGS THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WITH MOSQUITOES HERE ARE SPREAD OF WEST NILE VIRUS, POTENTIALLY SPREAD OF MORE SERIOUS INFECTIONS LIKE EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS. AND IN PREVIOUS YEARS, ZIKA, ALTHOUGH ZIKA NEVER REALLY MADE IT UP TO MASSACHUSETTS. BUT THOSE ARE ALL MOSQUITO BORNE INFECTIONS THAT CAN AFFECT THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. SO THE BEST PROTECTION IS OBVIOUSLY PREVENTION. BUT AS YOU WELL KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENINGS OUTSIDE, IT CAN BE REALLY HARD TO AVOID MOSQUITO BITES. SO WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE? WELL, PEOPLE WHO ARE OLDER AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED MAY BE AT GREATER RISK FOR MORE SERIOUS INFECTION. IT’S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF WEST NILE VIRUS INFECTIONS ARE REALLY MILD OR MAY EVEN BE ASYMPTOMATIC. WE WORRY ABOUT THE SMALL PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN WHOM IT CAN CAUSE AN ENCEPHALITIS TYPE PICTURE OR A POLIO TYPE PICTURE AS WELL. SO PREVENTING IT IS REALLY THE USUAL WAYS OF PREVENTING MOSQUITO BITES. WEAR LONG SLEEVES, LONG PANTS, SPRAY YOURSELF WITH BUG REPELLENT AND TRY NOT TO BE OUTDOORS WHEN MOSQUITOES ARE BITING EMPTY STANDING WATER. YEAH, VERY GOOD
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Eastern equine encephalitis virus detected in mosquitoes collected in Dudley and Southbridge, Massachusetts
Updated: 11:56 AM EDT Sep 1, 2023
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Massachusetts for the first time this year, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Friday.The presence of EEE was confirmed in mosquito samples collected on Wednesday in Douglas and Southbridge in Worcester County. No human or animal cases of EEE have been detected so far this year.The finding increases the risk level of EEE to moderate in the communities of Douglas, Dudley, Southbridge, Sturbridge, Uxbridge and Webster in Worcester County, officials said.“After the EEE outbreak cycle that occurred in 2019 and 2020, there was no EEE activity in Massachusetts in 2021 or 2022,” Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein, MD, Ph.D. “This is a late-season emergence for EEE, which should keep the risk level from rising too much or too quickly. However, some risk from mosquito-borne disease will continue until the first hard frost, and people should take steps to prevent mosquito bites.”EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages. EEE is generally spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. There were 12 human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2019, with six deaths and five human cases, with one death in 2020. There were no human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2021 or 2022.Health officials urged residents and visitors to apply insect repellent when outside, be aware of peak mosquito hours — dusk to dawn and wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outside. Earlier this week, Massachusetts health officials confirmed two human cases of West Nile virus — another mosquito-borne disease.According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a man in his 40s was recently exposed to the virus in Middlesex County, an area already known to be at moderate risk of infection, and a Massachusetts woman in her 70s was exposed to West Nile virus in another part of the country.More information, including all West Nile virsus and EEE positive results, can be found on the Arbovirus Surveillance Information web page at Mosquito-borne Diseases | Mass.gov, which is updated daily, or by calling the DPH Division of Epidemiology at 617-983-6800.
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Massachusetts for the first time this year, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Friday.
The presence of EEE was confirmed in mosquito samples collected on Wednesday in Douglas and Southbridge in Worcester County. No human or animal cases of EEE have been detected so far this year.
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The finding increases the risk level of EEE to moderate in the communities of Douglas, Dudley, Southbridge, Sturbridge, Uxbridge and Webster in Worcester County, officials said.
“After the EEE outbreak cycle that occurred in 2019 and 2020, there was no EEE activity in Massachusetts in 2021 or 2022,” Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein, MD, Ph.D. “This is a late-season emergence for EEE, which should keep the risk level from rising too much or too quickly. However, some risk from mosquito-borne disease will continue until the first hard frost, and people should take steps to prevent mosquito bites.”
EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages. EEE is generally spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
There were 12 human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2019, with six deaths and five human cases, with one death in 2020. There were no human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2021 or 2022.
Health officials urged residents and visitors to apply insect repellent when outside, be aware of peak mosquito hours — dusk to dawn and wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outside.
Earlier this week, Massachusetts health officials confirmed two human cases of West Nile virus — another mosquito-borne disease.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a man in his 40s was recently exposed to the virus in Middlesex County, an area already known to be at moderate risk of infection, and a Massachusetts woman in her 70s was exposed to West Nile virus in another part of the country.
More information, including all West Nile virsus and EEE positive results, can be found on the Arbovirus Surveillance Information web page at Mosquito-borne Diseases | Mass.gov, which is updated daily, or by calling the DPH Division of Epidemiology at 617-983-6800.
