State: 1st Mass. case of EEE reported
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts health officials are reporting the season's first human case of Eastern equine encephalitis, but say the victim may have gotten the illness on a trip out of state.
The Department of Public Health said Wednesday the man, who is in his 60s, lives in the Metrowest area of Middlesex County, where no EEE has been found in mammal-biting mosquitoes this year.
He became ill July 28 after traveling to the mid-Atlantic region and has been released from a hospital.
Officials said the man told health officials he had engaged in outdoor activity and been bitten by mosquitoes on his trip.
EEE-bearing mosquitoes have been found at dangerous levels in southeastern Massachusetts, where aerial spraying has been conducted and more is planned.
Two EEE cases were reported last year, one fatal.