BOSTON -- The eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, virus is quickly spreading across Massachusetts.
The Boston Herald reported that the disease has been found in mosquitos in 14 communities, including Rockland, Walpole, Dartmouth, Halifax, Kingston and New Bedford, Mass.
Two people, including a 13-year old Holbrook, Mass., teen, and a 52-year-old man from Brockton, Mass., died after contracting the disease.
A horse that was euthanized in Middleboro, Mass., has also tested positive for EEE virus. That's the second horse to contract the disease this month.
EEE is a rare but serious disease carried by birds and mosquitoes that live in freshwater swamps. Usually it is only carried by mosquitoes that do not bite people, but can be picked up by those that do, according to the state Department of Public Health.
According to DPH, "the first symptoms of EEE are high fever of 103 to 105 degrees, stiff neck, headache, and lack of energy. These symptoms show up two to ten days after infection. Swelling of the brain, called encephalitis, is the most dangerous symptom. The disease gets worse quickly, and some patients may go into a coma within a week."
Only about 80 cases have been reported in Massachusetts since it was first described in 1938. Health officials advise residents to avoid the outdoors at dawn and dusk and recommend that people wear longsleeve shirts and long pants as well as mosquito repellent.
Communities testing positive:
Attleboro
Brockton
Dartmouth
Easton
Halifax
Kingston
New Bedford
Norton
Pembroke
Raynham
Walpole
Holbrook
Rockland
Middleboro
The Boston Herald reported that the disease has been found in mosquitos in 14 communities, including Rockland, Walpole, Dartmouth, Halifax, Kingston and New Bedford, Mass.
Two people, including a 13-year old Holbrook, Mass., teen, and a 52-year-old man from Brockton, Mass., died after contracting the disease.
A horse that was euthanized in Middleboro, Mass., has also tested positive for EEE virus. That's the second horse to contract the disease this month.
EEE is a rare but serious disease carried by birds and mosquitoes that live in freshwater swamps. Usually it is only carried by mosquitoes that do not bite people, but can be picked up by those that do, according to the state Department of Public Health.
According to DPH, "the first symptoms of EEE are high fever of 103 to 105 degrees, stiff neck, headache, and lack of energy. These symptoms show up two to ten days after infection. Swelling of the brain, called encephalitis, is the most dangerous symptom. The disease gets worse quickly, and some patients may go into a coma within a week."
Only about 80 cases have been reported in Massachusetts since it was first described in 1938. Health officials advise residents to avoid the outdoors at dawn and dusk and recommend that people wear longsleeve shirts and long pants as well as mosquito repellent.
Communities testing positive:
Attleboro
Brockton
Dartmouth
Easton
Halifax
Kingston
New Bedford
Norton
Pembroke
Raynham
Walpole
Holbrook
Rockland
Middleboro
