(AmericanProsperity.com) – A deadly, rare mosquito virus is infecting one town in Massachusetts, lurking in its parks and fields.
The virus they are concerned about is Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and a warning was released by state health officials last week as a man in his eighties got the disease. This case marked the first human case found in Massachusetts since 2020.
Plymouth stated that they were closing public outdoor recreation facilities from dusk until dawn after they found that a horse in the area was infected with the virus. Four towns, including Webster, Douglas, Sutton, and Oxford, were said to be at risk after a man from Oxford caught the virus.
State and local health officials urged people to finish with outdoor activities before six in the evening and to stay inside around peak mosquito time. They also recommended using mosquito repellent and to avoid having standing water around their homes.
Jennifer Callahan, Oxford’s town manager said that the family of the man who contracted the virus was reaching out to her office. Said Callahan, “They want people to be aware this is an extremely serious disease with terrible physical and emotional consequences, regardless if the person manages to live.”
She continued to say that the infected person’s family was pushing the importance of taking these health warnings seriously and staying inside as much as possible.
When an outbreak of the same virus occurred in 2019, there were six deaths among the twelve confirmed cases, but the outbreak continued into the next year and resulted in five more cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that although this virus is rare, it is very serious. They stated that thirty percent of people who become infected with it die.
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