The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced that they have detected mosquitoes in Massachusetts that have eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus.
The mosquito samples with EEE were collected August 30 in Douglas and Southbridge in Worcester County.
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No human or animal case of EEE has been detected so far by authorities.
The findings increase the risk level of EEE to moderate in these communities in Worcester County:
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- Douglas
- Dudley
- Southbridge
- Sturbridge
- Uxbridge
- Webster
“After the EEE outbreak cycle that occurred in 2019 and 2020, there was no EEE activity in Massachusetts in 2021 or 2022,” said Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein, MD, PhD
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.
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The mosquito-borne virus affects the nervous system and kills about three in 10 people who contract it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
