BOSTON – Public health officials in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have announced this summer’s first case of eastern equine encephalitis in a person.
Citing privacy, officials identified him Sunday only as a Rhode Island man in his 20s from Newport County. He is in critical condition.
Officials say his exposure to a mosquito carrying the encephalitis likely occurred in southeastern Massachusetts, which has been identified as an area of high risk. Officials say his symptoms first occurred Aug. 5, before aerial spraying.
Officials say aerial spraying from Aug. 5 to 7 has reduced the mosquito population by 80 percent and the number of mammal-biting mosquitoes, which pose the greatest risk to humans, by 90 percent.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.