West Nile virus has shown up in mosquito samples from three more
South Shore communities, and a pocket of Eastern equine encephalitis
has been found in Carver.
The latest samples testing positive for West Nile were collected
Thursday in Quincy, Stoughton and Canton. The virus has also been
found in Abington, Hingham, Plymouth, Whitman, Scituate and Weymouth
in recent weeks.
The season was free of EEE until Aug. 14, when it showed up in a
sample from Carver.
Statewide, mosquitoes from 60 pools of water and 40 dead birds
have tested positive for West Nile. In Scituate, a dead blue jay
found on 10th Avenue tested positive.
Encephalitis is potentially the more dangerous of the two
diseases, with a 30 to 50 percent death rate, state epidemiologist
Dr. Alfred DeMaria said.
But he said the risk of contracting West Nile is greater because
the virus is so widespread in the state. It's likely that some
people have already been infected with West Nile and don't even know
it.
Last year in Massachusetts, there were no human cases of EEE but
there were six human cases of West Nile.
(C) 2008 The Patriot Ledger Quincy, MA. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved