Massachusetts mosquitoes: a rare virus puts several cities at "high risk"

IIn Freetown, Mbadachusetts, summer is at its height. Yet all of the city's public spaces, just 50 miles from Cape Cod, will be closed from dusk to dawn because of a rare mosquito-borne virus that has alerted local public health officials.

In a statement released Wednesday by the Mbadachusetts Department of Public Health, officials warned that 92 local mosquito samples had tested positive for a rare but dangerous virus called the Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV). In humans, it can cause a type of brain inflammation called Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). The disease is extremely Rare – the CDC notes that only an average of seven cases are reported each year in the United States – but that's dangerous. In 30% of cases, this can be fatal.

Health risks are among the reasons why local authorities have alerted several cities in Mbadachusetts this week. But they also sensitize the strange behavior of these mosquitoes. They showed themselves a little earlier than expected.

"We are increasing the level of risk because the activity is more important than what we usually see and it occurs early in the season," said Dr. Monica Bharel, MPH, health commissioner of Mbadachusetts.

The alert in Mbadachusetts comes a week after a similar announcement in Florida, where public health officials have also warned of infections in the EEA of several chicken populations. This may seem like a frightening coincidence, but EEV cases, as rare as they are, are not irrelevant for Mbadachusetts or Florida.

According to the CDC, between 2009 and 2018, two states had the highest number of brain diseases caused by VEE. In nine years, Florida had 13 and Mbadachusetts had ten.

In rare cases throughout history, EEE have also been detected in New York (eight cases), North Carolina (seven cases) and Georgia (six cases).

As Bharel notes in the statement, he is a bit suspicious of seeing these mosquitoes around, so early in the year, even in Mbadachusetts. Although Mbadachusetts public health does not explain in detail why this could happen, there is evidence that the climate crisis is affecting the transmission of other mosquito-borne diseases.

An article published in March in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases has shown that dengue fever and other serious mosquito-borne diseases could affect one billion more people in 2080 than they currently do, due to warmer temperatures.

In a previous interview with reverseThe study's author, Colin Carlson, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, said his findings were "extremely worrisome and almost certainly involved more people falling ill around the world."

His study did not focus on EEE, but on malaria, zika, dengue and yellow fever, which already cause millions of deaths per year in tropical climates.

It may not be an exaggeration to think that this could also affect the future spread of VEEE mosquitoes (if not already done), although important, no public health service can has established the link. What they focus on is helping people prevent infection.

It's like preventing mosquitoes bites themselves, what people can do by wearing protective clothing, applying an EPA approved mosquito repellent and, as in the city of Freeport, staying indoors during the crepuscular and morning hours, when mosquitoes tend to be more active. The Mbadachusetts Department of Public Health also advises people to make sure to install screens in their windows and to evacuate puddles of standing water where mosquitoes might gather.

Additional precautions are very important to consider given the risks that IAS may pose.

EEE-carrying mosquitoes are another summer public health problem that Americans need to monitor in 2019, in addition to the threat of flesh-eating bacteria. But fortunately, in both cases, simple steps can be taken to protect you.