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How the state is dealing with EEE mosquitoes in Plymouth and Worcester counties
The state is doubling-down on spraying for mosquitoes as the risk for EEE has risen in some areas.
The state will double-down on spraying parts of Plymouth and Worcester county this week for mosquitoes in response to the increased risk for Eastern Equine Encephalitis in those areas.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts public health officials announced the first human case of EEE of 2024 in an 80-year-old Worcester County man. The mosquito-borne virus can lead to severe illness, and in 2019 caused six deaths in the state.
The state’s Department of Public Health said Monday that ten communities in Massachusetts are currently designated as being at high or critical risk for EEE. Officials have already been conducting truck-based spraying in response to mosquitoes carrying the virus in Plymouth County, but given the elevated risk, the state said it will do additional aerial spraying in high-risk areas starting Tuesday evening.
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The aerial spraying will be done in Carver, Halifax, Kingston, Middleborough, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, and Wareham.
In Worcester County, the state said, truck-based spraying has been ongoing in Northbridge, which is considered at high risk, and in Webster, which is designated as being at critical risk. But five surrounding towns have not yet been sprayed for mosquitoes. Those communities — Douglas, Dudley, Oxford, Sutton, and Uxbridge — will see truck-mounted ground spraying starting Tuesday evening and potentially other days in the effort to lower risk for EEE in the area.
“For both aerial and truck-mounted applications, spraying begins at dusk and continues until approximately 4:30 am the next morning,” the state said. “If planes or trucks are seen in your area prior to dusk, they are either getting in position or scouting out the area prior to starting the spray.”
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Residents can check the state’s mosquito spray map to track when the work will take place. The state also has a map tracking the risk for mosquito-borne illnesses.
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