Massachusetts confirms 2nd human case of eastern equine encephalitis

Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A second human case of eastern equine encephalitis has been confirmed in Massachusetts, state health officials said days after they announced the state's first patient with the rare disease this year had died.

Massachusetts' second EEE patient was identified Thursday by the state's Department of Public Health as a woman in her 30s.

The department said a horse has also been confirmed to be infected with the disease, making it the state's second EEE sickened equine this year.

The health officials said both the woman and the horse were exposed in Plymouth County and infected prior to the area being aerial sprayed Tuesday night.

"This evidence of the spread of EEE to a person and a horse in Plymouth County before aerial spraying confirms risk in the area," Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said in a statement .

"We expect that the aerial spraying will help prevent risk for EEE from continuing to escalate in the area, but it does not eliminate it completely."

The infection was made public after the health officials on Tuesday said a New Hampshire man in his 80s had died shortly after testing positive for EEE.

It was the state's first EEE infection since 2014.

According to the health officials, there have been 76 EEE-positive mosquito samples collected so far this year throughout the state, with the first having been announced on July 3.

The quantity of positive samples has led officials to believe that there is an elevated risk of infection this year in New England.

"We are asking people to be consistent about taking steps to prevent mosquito bites," Goldstein said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , EEE is a rare but serious disease that is spread to humans via infected mosquitos.

Most people infected with the disease do not develop symptoms, but for those who do, onset of illness ranges from four to 10 days, the federal health officials said. Infection can result in fever or neurologic disease with the type of illness dependent on the age of the person, among other factors.

The officials said about a third of all who develop severe EEE die, with death usually occurring from two to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

Antibiotics are not effective against viruses and there is no specific medicine to treat EEE, they said, adding rest, fluids and pain medicines might relieve symptoms with severe disease requiring hospitalization.

The CDC is currently showing four EEE cases confirmed this year as of Tuesday but does not include the second patient from Massachusetts. The other three patients were in New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin.