Massachusetts Confirms 2nd West Nile Case as 7 Middlesex-Area Communities Face High Risk
Updated
Updated · WCVB Boston · Aug 24
Massachusetts Confirms 2nd West Nile Case as 7 Middlesex-Area Communities Face High Risk
3 articles · Updated · WCVB Boston · Aug 24
Summary
A man in his 60s exposed in Middlesex County became Massachusetts' second human West Nile virus case this year, days after a man in his 90s was identified in the same county.
Seven communities — Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, Newton, Somerville and Watertown — were raised to high risk after the two cases and fresh virus detections in mosquito samples.
State health officials have logged 184 WNV-positive mosquito samples across 13 counties and warned Massachusetts is now in peak mosquito season, with older adults and immunocompromised people facing higher risk of severe illness.
Most infected people have no symptoms, but about 20% can develop fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting or rash; officials urged residents to use repellent, avoid dusk-to-dawn exposure and drain standing water until the first hard frost.