Second Human EEE Case Discovered In MA This Year

A Hampden County woman in her 60s became the second Massachusetts resident to contract Eastern equine encephalitis this year, health officials announced Saturday.

Officials with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health raised the risk level for EEE to critical in Wilbraham, high in Hampeden and Monson and moeraate in Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Palmer, Ludlow and Springfield.

State health officials said they found EEE in 65 mosquito samples this season. More than 70 percent of them were in species of mosquitoes capable of spreading the virus to humans.

The state's first human case of EEE this season was reported in Middleboro at the beginning of August. The Department of Public Health said the person is a boy under 18 years old.

State officials urged residents to use mosquito repellent anytime they go outside. Anyone living in high risk areas should refrain from outdoor activities during dusk and dawn hours .