Yet yet any other Massachusetts resident has died from the uncommon, awful mosquito-borne Jap Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus, impart health officials said this week. The death marks the fourth in the impart and the 10th in the nation from the virus.
In a Wednesday news liberate, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said an Essex County man in his 70s died of the mosquito-borne ailment. His case marked the ninth in the impart, officials said.
DEADLY MOSQUITO-BORNE EEE VIRUS OUTBREAK IN MASSACHUSETTS MAY BE CAUSED BY THIS, EPIDEMIOLOGIST SAYS
Basically based fully on the actual person’s death, the threat of EEE in numerous surrounding communities has been raised to high.
In the same liberate, officials launched that an 11th Massachusetts resident, also a man in his 70s, is contaminated with EEE. The affected person, who used to be not known, is from Worcester County.
“Even though mosquito populations are declining right this moment of year, threat from EEE will proceed except the principle hard frost.”
— Dr. Catherine Brown, Massachusetts impart epidemiologist
Except for for the four deaths in Massachusetts, there has been one EEE death in Rhode Island, two in Connecticut and three in Michigan. On common, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) says five to 10 cases of EEE are reported each and every year in the U.S.
“Even though mosquito populations are declining right this moment of year, threat from EEE will proceed except the principle hard frost,” said Dr. Catherine Brown, a Massachusetts epidemiologist who not too prolonged prior to now defined why the impart will most likely be seeing extra EEE cases than long-established this year, in an announcement. “We proceed to stress the need for folks to offer protection to themselves from mosquito bites.”
The CDC describes EEE as “regarded as one of a team of mosquito-transmitted viruses that will perhaps perhaps reason irritation of the mind (encephalitis).”
Indicators of the virus on the total seem about four to 10 days after the chunk, with excessive cases progressing to encephalitis. Sufferers would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps journey high fever, stiff neck, excessive headache and absence of energy. Roughly one-third of sufferers who contract EEE will die, and there’s no specific therapy for the virus. Health officials said most likely the greatest formulation to offer protection to in opposition to the virus is to lead determined of being bitten by mosquitoes.
Fox Recordsdata’ Alexandria Hein contributed to this file.
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