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BOSTON (WHDH) – A woman treated for Eastern Equine Encephalitis at Boston's Tufts Medical Center died.
Laurie Sylvia, 59, was the fourth person in Massachusetts to contract an EEE this year, according to the Department of Public Health. Health officials said 38 communities were at high or critical risk for IAS, with Methuen being the last city to present a critical risk after a horse has tested positive for the disease.
Sylvia's colleague at Pelliteir Realty in New Bedford stated that she had fallen ill two weeks ago, that she had officially received the virus transmitted by the mosquito on Friday and that she had died two days later Sunday.
"It's a very serious disease," he said Dr. Catherine Brown of the state Department of Health. "We have a mortality rate of about 40% and 80% of survivors have a level of neurological impairment."
Health officials say that the EEE usually comes in about three to 10 days after a mosquito gets bitten. We do not know when it happened to Sylvia.
"The illness starts with fever, headaches, chills that really do not feel good, but because it's a virus that invades the central nervous system," Brown said. "You will see a rapid progression to loss of consciousness, convulsions, and perhaps even a fatality."
Most of the time, Sylvia's colleagues say she worked at selling homes in southeastern Massachusetts or was with her family in Fairhaven. She had been married for 40 years, a mother of three, and a six-year-old grandmother.
His daughter Jen has posted a tribute on Facebook.
"I had to say goodbye to my best friend," Jen said. "My mother was my favorite person in the world. She brought light and joy to everyone she met … I just do not understand how such a beautiful person could be removed from me so soon. "
This year is the first since 2013 that Massachusetts residents have been diagnosed with EEE. Health officials said they discovered the virus in 333 mosquito samples this year and that many insects are capable of transmitting the virus to humans. Several communities – including Fairhaven's town of Sylvia – practice aerial spraying. They also limit outdoor activities from dusk to dawn, the day mosquitoes are most active.
Brown said people should be careful, but not be too scared.
"We have to put that in the future," Brown said. "Yes, it's a very bad disease when you catch it, but the fact is it's still rare."
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