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Health
“While we advise everyone to take steps to avoid mosquito bites, this is especially important if you are over 50 or have an immune deficiency.”
Four humans and one animal have been diagnosed with West Nile virus in Massachusetts. REUTERS / James Gathany / CDC / Document, file
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has announced an increased high risk of West Nile virus infection in 27 cities, after the discovery of four human cases and one animal case.
“Based on the occurrence of animal and human cases, populations above the average for the Culex mosquitoes that carry [West Nile virus], recent rainfall and weather conditions still favorable for mosquito activity, the risk level of WNV is increased in 27 communities of moderate to high“the state wrote in a statement Friday.
The four human cases – the first cases of the year in Massachusetts – were announced last week. An alpaca from Middlesex County has also been diagnosed with WNV, the statement said.
The risk of WNV rose from moderate to high in 27 different communities in four counties. The state also created a map highlighting the affected areas.
Towns include Lynnfield and Saugus in Essex County; Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Everett, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Reading, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Winchester and Woburn in Middlesex County; Brookline in Norfolk County; and Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop in Suffolk County.
WNV, which is commonly contracted by humans and animals from mosquito bites, can give people flu-like symptoms and severe illness in rare cases. However, the ministry wrote that many people do not have any symptoms.
“September is the month when we are most likely to see people infected with West Nile virus,” Acting Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said in a statement. “While we advise everyone to take steps to avoid mosquito bites, this is especially important if you are over 50 or have an immune deficiency. It is also important to know that as nighttime temperatures are cooling, mosquito activity just at dusk and dawn may be more intense. “
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