Massachusetts Town Urges Voluntary Lockdown To Avoid Spread Of Deadly Mosquito Virus
No, it’s not West Nile, this one’s called Eastern Equine Encephalitis. And no, I doubt anyone in this town is going to go under any actual “lockdown” (just like there were no real “lockdowns” during the first year of COVID). Via CNN:
In 2005, 2012 and 2019, towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut asked residents to curb outdoor activities during outbreaks of eastern equine encephalitis, an infection also known as EEE, with little fanfare or attention. Last week, however, when officials in Oxford, Massachusetts, announced a voluntary curfew and urged residents to finish outdoor activities before 6 p.m. through the end of September – and 5 p.m. in October until the first hard frost – some residents weren’t happy. About 200 showed up to a town meeting where the measure was discussed.
[CNN]
Another town is closing down some parks after dusk, but I’m pretty sure the mosquitoes can still bite you in or around your house, or anywhere else you might be that isn’t a park. Report via WCVB:
I had to stop and Google when that report casually mentioned that EEE kills one third(?!) of people who get it, because that sounded crazy. Unfortunately, it’s true. Via CDC:
Only a few cases are reported in the United States each year. Most cases occur in eastern or Gulf Coast states. Although rare, eastern equine encephalitis is very serious. Approximately 30% of people with eastern equine encephalitis die, and many survivors have ongoing neurologic problems. Symptoms of eastern equine encephalitis can include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes, and drowsiness. There are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat eastern equine encephalitis.
I also Googled why it’s called “equine,” because what the hell does this have to do with horses? Turns out, “equine” is part of the name because the virus is commonly given to horses.
The very sad story of the man who died from EEE last week:
