West Nile virus in Massachusetts: High risk level in Boston area after state reports 2nd human case
The risk level for West Nile virus has been elevated to high in the Boston area after a second person in their 70s tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus in Suffolk County, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
State health officials are urging residents to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites, as DPH on Friday announced the second human case of West Nile virus in the state this year.
The individual who tested positive was a man in his 70s who was exposed to the virus in Suffolk County. The first human case of the summer was a woman in her 70s who was also exposed in Suffolk County.
As a result of this second human case in Suffolk County, DPH has raised the West Nile virus risk level from moderate to high for Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. It’s the only part of Massachusetts that is currently at high risk for the virus.
“August and September are the months when most cases of West Nile virus occur,” Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said after the first human case was reported in August. “Although the significant drought conditions that exist across the Commonwealth have kept the populations of the Culex mosquito species that are most likely to spread WNV relatively small, today’s news is an important reminder that we all need to take steps to protect ourselves and our families from mosquito bites.”
The state has reported 76 positive mosquito samples so far this summer. The counties with positive mosquito samples include Suffolk, Middlesex, Norfolk, Essex, Bristol, Plymouth, Worcester, Barnstable, Dukes, Hampden and Hampshire.
WNV is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe disease.
Most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. When present, WNV symptoms tend to include fever and flu-like illness. In rare cases, more severe illness can occur. No human or animal cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) have been detected so far this year in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, communities are spraying for mosquitoes due to the presence of West Nile virus in their cities and towns.
One of those municipalities is Brockton, which was notified of a positive WNV mosquito on Friday by the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project. The infected mosquito was found in the Campello section on Brockton’s south side.
“To protect residents, technicians from the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project will begin to spray the entire city with mosquito-killing aerosol, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 7,” the city said in a statement. “The spray is harmless to humans and has no harmful impact to the environment. The spraying will begin in the Campello neighborhood where the infected mosquito was found.”
State health officials are reminding people to avoid mosquito bites by applying insect repellent when outdoors, consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning, and to wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors to help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/LlrHNmx
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