By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
On Wednesday, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced that laboratory testing has confirmed the 9th human case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus infection, a man in his 70s from Essex County.

One fatality has been reported this year.
“We continue to emphasize the need for people to protect themselves from mosquito bites,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “We urge the public to use bug spray, wear long sleeves and pants and socks to reduce exposed skin, and stay indoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most active.”
As a result of this most recent case, risk levels have been raised to high in Ipswich and Topsfield, and to moderate in Beverly, Danvers, Hamilton, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, and Wenham.
State officials continue to remind residents throughout the Commonwealth to take personal precautions to prevent mosquito bites.
In addition to the nine human cases of EEE this season in Massachusetts, there have also been eight confirmed cases of EEE this year in animals – seven horses and a goat. One person has died.
18 infections you can get from mosquitoes
- The Public Health Crisis You Haven’t Heard Of: It Takes a Life Every 2 Minutes in the U.S.
- Singapore: Dengue tally now 12,000, Zika cluster confirmed
- Guam reports 2nd autochthonous dengue case
- Naegleria fowleri drug research with Dennis Kyle, PhD
- Sweden reports 90 additional tularemia cases in past week
- Endocarditis cases linked to opioid epidemic: An ‘alarming’ number
- Norovirus outbreak on Carnival Cruise Line’s, Conquest
- Rhode Island reports 2 additional human Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases
- Michigan reports additional EEE cases, 3 deaths; worst outbreak in more than a decade