The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) announced last week that the eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus was detected in a horse from Lancaster on Aug. 12. The horse died Aug. 19. This is the first reported case of EEE in an animal in Lancaster this year, and the second in Worcester County.
A press release issued by the MDPH on Aug. 4 announced that a four-year-old horse from Warren had been diagnosed with EEE. The horse developed symptoms on July 31 and had to be euthanized on Aug. 1. Prior to this incident, the most recent case of EEE infection in a horse in Worcester County occurred in 2003 in Brimfield.
Besides the horses in Lancaster and Warren, two other horses, from Middleborough and Plympton, have tested positive in Massachusetts this year. And, according to the MDPH, a Rhode Island resident was also recently diagnosed with EEE. Officials believe this was was most likely due to exposure to the virus in southeastern Massachusetts.
In response to the discovery in Lancaster, the Central Mass Mosquito Control Program (CMMCP) has been testing ponds and wet areas throughout the town and was scheduled to spray for mosquitoes there on Aug. 19.
The issue of spraying for mosquitoes in Harvard came before Harvard’s Board of Selectmen in May, when Devens residents pressed for BOS approval for Devens to join the CMMCP.
By unanimous vote at the May 5 BOS meeting, the board said it had “no objection” to Devens joining the CMMCP, provided, among other things, that MassDevelopment obtained confirmation from the state’s attorney general that it has the authority to join the program without the approval of the surrounding towns.
Several Old Mill and Blanchard road residents who live near the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone (DREZ) took the floor during the public comment time at the May 11 BOS meeting to voice their opposition to mosquito spraying in Devens.
As reported by the Press May 21, Town Counsel Mark Lanza has said that any decision by Harvard to participate in the mosquito program would require a vote of Town Meeting. Harvard opted out of the Central Mass. Mosquito Control Program in 1989, by a narrow Town Meeting vote of 171-132, according to the April 14, 1989, issue of the Harvard Post.
Contacted by phone Monday, Board of Selectman Chairman Peter Warren expressed concern about the discovery of EEE so close to Harvard. He acknowledged the opposition of several residents when the subject of spraying last came up for discussion, but, he said, “We may want to bring it up again.”
EEE is a rare but serious illness spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. While EEE can infect people of all ages, people younger than 15 years of age or older than 50 years of age are at greatest risk for serious illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Most persons infected with EEEV have no apparent illness. Severe cases of EEE (involving encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain) begin with the sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills, and vomiting. The illness may then progress into disorientation, seizures, or coma. EEE is one of the most severe mosquito-transmitted diseases in the United States, with approximately 33 percent mortality and significant brain damage in most survivors. There is no specific treatment for EEE ….”
Information about EEE and reports of EEE virus activity in Massachusetts during 2010 can be found on the MDPH website at www.mass.gov/dph/wnv.
Recorded information about EEE is also available by calling the MDPH Public Health Information Line at 866-MASS-WNV (866-627-7968).