Due to a high risk of mosquito-borne encephalitis, a Massachusetts town has decided to close its parks and fields during nighttime hours.

 

Amid an elevated threat of a potentially deadly mosquito-borne encephalitis, a Massachusetts town has shut down its municipal parks and fields to nighttime visitors, town officials announced.

Plymouth, located about 40 miles southeast of Boston, implemented the closures on Friday due to the high risk posed by Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a rare but dangerous disease spread by mosquitoes, according to a town press release.

The disease, which is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, carries a fatality rate of 33% to 70%, with most deaths occurring within two to 10 days after symptoms emerge, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

"The recent EEE infection in a horse exposed in Plymouth raised the town’s EEE risk level to high," officials stated in the release.

On August 16, the state reported its first human case of EEE this year—the first since 2020—after an elderly man in Worcester County was exposed, leading health officials to increase the disease risk level in nearby communities, according to the public health department.

"EEE is a rare but serious disease and a significant public health concern," said Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein in the release. "We urge residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites, especially in areas where EEE activity is detected."

Approximately 30% of people infected with EEE succumb to the disease, and many survivors suffer from long-term neurological issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Due to its rarity, the CDC notes that the U.S. sees an average of only 11 human EEE cases annually. However, during an EEE outbreak in Massachusetts in 2019 and 2020, there were 17 reported cases and seven deaths, according to state health officials.

Public health authorities, along with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, announced plans on Saturday to conduct aerial mosquito spraying in Plymouth County and truck-mounted spraying in parts of Worcester County to mitigate the risk, according to the release.

By Saturday, 10 Massachusetts communities faced a high or critical EEE risk level.

Additionally, at least eight municipalities in the state, including Boston, are now considered at high risk for mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus, the state’s health department reported on Friday.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for Dr. Anthony Fauci confirmed that the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was recovering at home after being hospitalized with West Nile virus.