Two More Cases of EEE Virus Confirmed in Massachusetts

Two new human cases of mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalitis were confirmed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The cases include a woman in her 60s and a 5-year-old girl and are in addition to five cases previously reported in the state, including one death, according to Catherine Brown, D.V.M., M.P.H., the state epidemiologist and state public health veterinarian at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, CNN reported. The 5-year-old girl, who is from the town of Sudbury, is in critical condition in the hospital.

Thirty-six Massachusetts communities are now at critical risk, 42 are now at high risk, and 115 are now at moderate risk for Eastern equine encephalitis, according to the state health department, CNN reported. More cases and more deaths are possible before the season ends, according to Brown.

Typically, only five to 10 human cases of Eastern equine encephalitis are reported in a year, but about 30 percent of cases result in death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CNN reported.

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