PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - With scattered storms Monday and more wet weather expected later this week, state officials are watching forecasts with an eye toward plans to spray for mosquitos.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced over the weekend that officials will conduct aerial and truck-mounted pesticide spraying beginning this week in an effort to address the rising threat of the EEE virus.
Aerial spraying will take place in Plymouth County. Truck spraying will happen in southern Worcester County.
EEE is a dangerous virus spread by mosquito bites. To date, the Department of Public Health has classified 10 communities at high or critical risk for EEE.
Though officials announced plans to spray for mosquitos, they cautioned that plans are weather dependent and the schedule may change.
“Rain impacts the ability for [the pesticide] to kind of sustain,” Plymouth Health and Human Services Commissioner Michelle Bratti told 7NEWS.
“Temperature impacts the sustainability,” she continued. “The mosquitos themselves have a really good sense of somehow how to manipulate a little bit with that.”
When it happens, spraying is scheduled to take place at night, starting after dusk and ending in the early morning.
As of Monday, the state had announced one human case of EEE in 2024 impacting a man in his 80s. The man was exposed to the virus in Worcester County. Massachusetts previously recorded 17 human cases and seven deaths due to EEE during an outbreak between 2019 and 2020.
Bracing for a new EEE surge, communities including Plymouth have announced restrictions, with Plymouth closing public parks and sports fields at dusk to limit mosquito exposure.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)