First case of Eastern equine encephalomyelitis confirmed in Massachusetts in 2024

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester County has become the epicenter of the 2024 Eastern equine encephalomyelitis threat after state health officials confirmed Friday that an area man is the first person to contract the disease this year.

The man, in his 80s, is the first human case of EEE since the last outbreak subsided in summer 2020. The first EEE sample from a mosquito was collected in early July, and a case in an animal was identified in Plymouth earlier this month.

After the human case was identified, health authorities raised the electrical and electronic equipment threat level to “critical” in Douglas, Oxford, Sutton and Webster and to “high” in Dudley, Northbridge and Uxbridge.

“EEE is a rare but serious disease and a public health risk. We want to remind citizens to protect themselves from mosquito bites, especially in areas of the state where EEE activity is observed,” Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said in a news release.

The first places in Massachusetts where electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) was found this summer were Plymouth and Bristol counties. Communities around Plymouth and the northern part of Essex County remain at increased risk of the disease. Positive mosquito tests have also been reported in Dedham and Sudbury.

The peak of the state's most recent EEE outbreak was in 2019, when 12 state residents contracted the disease and six died. In 2020, there were five EEE cases and one death.

West Nile virus is active again this summer, with dozens of communities from the Berkshires to Cape Cod at “moderate” risk for the disease, including Worcester, Grafton and Shrewsbury in Worcester County.