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PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - Planes swept the skies over Plymouth County Tuesday evening, spraying anti-mosquito pesticides aimed at addressing the deadly mosquito-borne EEE virus.
The state Department of Public Health announced plans to conduct aerial spraying in Plymouth County throughout the night. Truck-mounted spraying took place in parts of Worcester County, including Dudley.
Crews loaded two small planes at Plymouth Airport help distribute pesticide. Each plane took off around dusk carrying about 200 gallons of spray.
“What we can do with aerial applications that we can’t do on the ground is to get to those areas where it’s hard to get to by roads,” said Laura McGowan of Clarke Mosquito.
To date, the state has classified 10 communities as being at high or critical risk for EEE. Thirteen communities were included in the aerial and truck-mounted spraying areas between Plymouth and Worcester counties.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, known as EEE, can be contracted through a mosquito bite. Some people may show no symptoms when infected. For others, the virus can cause symptoms including brain swelling.
Plymouth Commissioner of Health and Human Services Michelle Bratti told 7NEWS between 30% and 70% of EEE cases are fatal.
“We are not going to take that lightly,” she said.
A rare disease, there have only been roughly 115 cases of EEE in Massachusetts since experts first detected it in the state in 1938.
State officials last grappled with an EEE outbreak in 2019 and 2020, documenting 17 human cases, with seven deaths over the two years. The Department of Public Health announced this year’s first human case of EEE earlier this month after a man in his 80s was exposed to the virus in Worcester County.
In Plymouth, town officials have taken steps to keep community members safe, closing town parks and fields from dusk until dawn.
Now conducting spraying operations, Bratti said officials are looking to inform people, rather than alarm them.
“It’s to keep our kids safe, to keep our seniors safe [and] keep all residents safe,” Bratti said.
Mosquito spraying will take place until around 4:30 a.m., utilizing the Anvil 10+10 pesticide.
The state over the weekend said crews will apply Anvil 10+10 using an ultra-low volume aerosol.
“Although special precautions are unnecessary, residents in the affected areas who prefer to avoid or minimize exposure can stay indoors during spraying,” officials said.
Officials said anyone with sensitivities to chemicals or existing respiratory conditions such as asthma are encouraged to stay inside during spraying.
McGowan said the planes distributing pesticide in Plymouth County are meant to fly roughly 300 feet off the ground.
“Most people don’t even notice it’s happening unless they happen to see an aircraft in the sky,” she said. “By the time you hear us, we’re past where we would be impacting you anyway.”
The state is updating its town-by-town map of EEE risk levels across Massachusetts and has urged residents to continue to protect themselves against mosquitoes even after mosquito spraying.
While sounding the alarm about EEE, officials have also warned about West Nile Virus. Also spread by mosquito bites, there have been two confirmed cases of West Nile in Massachusetts so far in 2024.
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