CARVER, MASS. (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced that the eastern equine encephalitis virus has been detected in Plymouth County for the first time this year.
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The presence of EEE has been confirmed in mosquito samples collected on July 13 from a single location in Carver, according to officials at the Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory.
The findings were collected from the same trap and are a mammal-biting species of mosquito.
The findings mark the third time the EEE virus has been confirmed in tested mosquito samples in Massachusetts this year.
The two earlier findings of the virus were detected in samples collected July 1 and July 5 in Franklin County, increasing the risk level of EEE to moderate in the communities of Orange, Athol, Wendell, and New Salem.
No human or animal case of EEE has been detected so far this year.
EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages. It is generally spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
There were 12 human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2019 with six deaths. There were also nine cases in domestic animals.
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