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Date: 9/10/2019
GREATER SPRINGFIELD – A significant part of Western Massachusetts is at an elevated risk for a rare, but serious, disease spread by mosquito bites.
On Aug. 29, the Agawam Health Department announced mosquitoes collected from the town had tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).
Health Agent with the Agawam Health Department Kathleen Auer told Reminder Publishing that Massachusetts sets up mosquito traps in towns for testing, with each trap serving as a pool.
Of the various pools in Agawam, Auer said three had tested positive for EEE, but could not disclose where the pools were in town because the state doesn’t convey that information. She said this was to keep people from “messing with the traps.”
Director of Public Health for East Longmeadow, Aimee Petrosky, told Reminder Publishing she found out on the night of Sept. 4 that two mosquito samples had also tested positive in East Longmeadow.
EEE, according to Mass.gov is a virus that is most often found in mosquitos that live in and around freshwater, hardwood swamps, but can also be found in other places. The insects become infected with EEE when they bite a bird carrying the virus.
While rare, Auer said the virus is serious. “Thirty to 50 percent of people that get it won’t survive,” she said. Mass.gov said that since the first reported case of the virus in the state in 1938, fewer than 100 cases of EEE had been reported.
Auer said in addition to death, the disease also often causes complications for those who do live through it. This is due to the nature of the virus, which causes swelling and inflammation in the brain. According to Mass.gov, few people survive and there is no cure.
Agawam is currently at a moderate risk level for EEE. Also at a moderate risk level in Hampden County is Holyoke, Springfield, West Springfield, Wilbraham, Hampden, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Monson, Palmer, and Wales.
However, the city of Chicopee, town of Ludlow, and the town of Brimfield are at a high risk level. In addition to Hampden County, many towns and cities in both Hampshire County and Franklin County have been placed at a moderate and high risk level. While no towns in Hampden County have been named as a critical risk level, Granby, Heath, and Colrain have all been deemed as a critical risk threat.
Petrosky said a moderate risk level means that an EEE event has taken place in the area, but not in the town or city. She said the risk level for the area is expected to remain moderate unless a confirmed case of EEE in an individual or horse appears.
Chicopee is at a high level, according to Petrosky, due to the city’s proximity to Granby, where a horse tested positive for EEE.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Health, as of Sept. 6, 392 mosquito samples, nine animals, and seven people have tested positive for the virus so far this year.
While anyone can get EEE if they don’t take the proper steps to protect themselves, those most at risk are kids under the age of 15-years-old and people over 50-years-old. Symptoms of EEE usually present themselves within three to 10 days of the mosquito bite occurring and include a high fever, stiff neck, headache, and lack of energy.
Auer said the risk for EEE will remain active until the first hard frost of the season, which is typically around the beginning of October for the lower part of the Pioneer Valley. The first step one can take to reduce their risk of exposing themselves to EEE is by reducing the time they spend outdoors when the insects are most active.
Chicopee High School did just that by moving up the times of athletics events to 4 p.m. until the threat level decreased in the city.
Lori McCool, who serves as the Wilbraham Health Inspector and Hampden Board of Health Agent, told Reminder Publishing early morning and evening are when people are most likely to be exposed to mosquitos.
McCool and Auer emphasized the importance of protecting oneself by exercising “personal protective behaviors” such as wearing long clothes when going outside during peak mosquito hours, using an insect repellent, and removing any standing water around or near your home.
Auer also stressed the importance of reading the directions on insect repellents and abiding by age restrictions and whether or not it goes on skin or clothes.
Petrosky recommended the use of the insecticide, permethrin, to treat one’s clothes. She said the insecticide will stay on clothes through multiple washes and kill mosquitos rather than simply repelling them.
Longmeadow Health Director Beverly Hirschhorn echoed the importance of repellents and said people should remain vigilant about using them.