New MA EEE Bill Aims To Reduce Mosquito Population

SUDBURY, MA — With coronavirus still spreading across Massachusetts, state lawmakers are preparing for the outbreak of another killer disease: Eastern equine encephalitis.

This week, the state Senate passed a law that would give the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board (SRMCB) the authority to deploy pesticides in mosquito breeding hotspots across the state.

"With reports of another active season, and chances of EEE continuing to spread to other areas of the state, now is the time to act," Senate President Karen Spilka said in a news release about the law.

According to the Senate bill, the commissioner of public health could activate the SRMCB to conduct aerial spraying of pesticides to kill mosquitoes if EEE reemerges. Any spraying activity would first be publicized, and cities and towns would be able to opt out. The bill also creates a task for to study the state's mosquito control efforts.

Last summer, Massachusetts saw its first EEE outbreak in almost a decade. Twelve Massachusetts residents were diagnosed with EEE — including 5-year-old Sudbury resident Sophia Garabedian — and three people died of the disease. When the outbreak peaked in late summer 2019, the disease put 35 cities and towns in MetroWest and southeast Massachusetts at "critical" risk.

EEE outbreaks happen every 10 to 20 years, and can stretch across several years.

Mosquito spraying has already begun across much of Massachusetts. The most common pesticide used is Bti, a type of bacteria that destroys the larvae of mosquitoes, black flies, and fungus gnats. Bti is not thought to be harmful to humans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Senate's EEE bill has been handed to the state House for further debate.