FREETOWN, MASS. (WHDH) - The wife of the second Massachusetts resident to die of Eastern Equine Encephalitis this year said her husband took all precautions to avoid the mosquito-borne virus, but still succumbed to the disease.
Diane Longworth said her husband Jim, 78, collapsed last Sunday in their Freetown home after he said he was not feeling well.
“Within 24 hours he went into a coma,” Diane Longworth said.
Doctors diagnosed him as the 10th confirmed case of EEE this year. Earlier this summer, 59-year-old Laurie Sylvia of Fairhaven died after contracting the virus, and Jim Longworth died shortly after contracting the disease.
“It’s just such a horrible, horrible disease. And it happened so quickly,” Diane Longworth said.
Diane said Jim worked outside in the yard but made sure to protect against mosquito bites.
“Never saw a mosquito bite. Never complained. But he had long sleeves, and he had long pants,” she said. “He took all the precautions and it happened to him.”
If it happened to Jim, it could happen to anyone, Diane said.
“He was such a caring, loving, fun person. He went to the gym every day,” she said. “Nobody could say a bad word about him. He was just that type of a person.”
The Department of Public Health is urging residents to wear long sleeves, to stay inside from dusk till dawn if possible and to drain any standing water from around residences.
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