Several Massachusetts communities to be sprayed for mosquitos amid EEE concerns

Several Massachusetts towns in Worcester and Plymouth counties will be sprayed for mosquitos amid growing concerns about EEE in the region.

• Rare but deadly mosquito virus infection has Massachusetts towns urging vigilance

Carver, Halifax, Kingston, Middleborough, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, and Wareham will be sprayed from the air while Douglas, Dudley, Oxford, Sutton, and Uxbridge will be sprayed by trucks.

MDPH says the spraying will begin this upcoming week of August 26 and residents will be told the exact timing in the coming days.

State health officials warned that a cluster of four towns south of Worcester — Douglas, Oxford, Sutton and Webster — are at “critical risk” after a man in his 80s from Oxford caught the virus, the first human case found in Massachusetts since 2020.

The town of Plymouth, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Boston, announced Friday that it’s closing public outdoor recreation facilities from dusk until dawn each day after a horse in the town was infected with the disease.

“We have not seen an outbreak of EEE for four years in Massachusetts,” said DPH Commissioner Robbie Goldstein. MD, PhD. “This year’s outbreak and activity raise the risk for communities in parts of the state. We need to use all our available tools to reduce risk and protect our communities. We are asking everyone to do their part.”

Although the spray will help reduce the risk of EEE infection, residents are still asked to take precautions, including wearing mosquito repellent outdoors.

The presence of the virus in Massachusetts this year was confirmed last month in a mosquito sample, and has been found in other mosquitoes across the state since then. In a 2019 outbreak, there were 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 says that although rare, EEE is very serious and about 30% of people who become infected die. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures.

People who survive are often permanently disabled, and few completely recover, Massachusetts authorities say. The disease is prevalent in birds, and although humans and some other mammals can catch EEE, they don’t spread the disease.

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