Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Everett woman, 58, dies of Eastern equine virus
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | September 26, 2006
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/09/26/everett_woman_58_dies_of_eastern_equine_virus/
A 58-year-old Everett woman is the second Massachusetts resident in the past month to die from Eastern equine encephalitis, state health authorities said yesterday.
http://www.boston.com/help/email/breaking_news/
They said the woman, whose identity was not disclosed because of patient privacy laws, might have been infected with the mosquito-borne illness when she spent part of the Labor Day weekend at Nantasket Beach in Hull, in a part of the state where mosquitoes carrying the virus are widespread.
Although mosquitoes tend to prefer marshes a bit more inland, it is conceivable that some of the insects may have drifted to the coast, said the state's top disease tracker, Dr. Alfred DeMaria.
Authorities are also looking for evidence of virus-carrying mosquitoes in wetlands ringing Everett, said David Henley, superintendent of the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project.
So far this year, no mosquitoes in Everett have tested positive for the Eastern equine encephalitis virus, said Deb O'Neill, the city's director of public health.
The woman became ill Sept. 11 and died a week later. A 9-year-old Middleborough boy died Aug. 31 of the disease, which kills a third to half of its victims.
Three other residents of the region are recovering from Eastern equine infections.
State health authorities and mosquito-control specialists said insect populations have declined precipitously in recent weeks, diminishing the potential threat. John Smith, director of Norfolk County Mosquito Control, said that mosquito species that bite humans ``are almost nonexistent."
Still, authorities said, until the first hard frost of fall, they are reluctant to declare that the Eastern equine season has come to an end.
``You can't really drop your guard until then," Smith said. ``When you have the tomato plants die, that's when I know you can drop your guard."
Until then, disease specialists counseled common sense. They know, for instance, that mosquitoes don't get out much when the temperature goes below 60.
``The threat's not the same as in July or August, but we don't want people to think they can't worry about it," DeMaria said.
On warmer days and evenings, DeMaria said, it is still advisable to wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts and to apply insect repellent.
And that's not just because of Eastern equine encephalitis: Authorities remain on the lookout for another mosquito-borne illness, West Nile virus.
This year's third human case of that disease in Massachusetts was reported yesterday.
The patient, a 55-year-old woman from Billerica, did not require hospitalization and is recovering.
She is related to an Arlington woman who was also stricken with West Nile.
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...60926033656&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0&cid=0
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | September 26, 2006
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/09/26/everett_woman_58_dies_of_eastern_equine_virus/
A 58-year-old Everett woman is the second Massachusetts resident in the past month to die from Eastern equine encephalitis, state health authorities said yesterday.
http://www.boston.com/help/email/breaking_news/
They said the woman, whose identity was not disclosed because of patient privacy laws, might have been infected with the mosquito-borne illness when she spent part of the Labor Day weekend at Nantasket Beach in Hull, in a part of the state where mosquitoes carrying the virus are widespread.
Although mosquitoes tend to prefer marshes a bit more inland, it is conceivable that some of the insects may have drifted to the coast, said the state's top disease tracker, Dr. Alfred DeMaria.
Authorities are also looking for evidence of virus-carrying mosquitoes in wetlands ringing Everett, said David Henley, superintendent of the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project.
So far this year, no mosquitoes in Everett have tested positive for the Eastern equine encephalitis virus, said Deb O'Neill, the city's director of public health.
The woman became ill Sept. 11 and died a week later. A 9-year-old Middleborough boy died Aug. 31 of the disease, which kills a third to half of its victims.
Three other residents of the region are recovering from Eastern equine infections.
State health authorities and mosquito-control specialists said insect populations have declined precipitously in recent weeks, diminishing the potential threat. John Smith, director of Norfolk County Mosquito Control, said that mosquito species that bite humans ``are almost nonexistent."
Still, authorities said, until the first hard frost of fall, they are reluctant to declare that the Eastern equine season has come to an end.
``You can't really drop your guard until then," Smith said. ``When you have the tomato plants die, that's when I know you can drop your guard."
Until then, disease specialists counseled common sense. They know, for instance, that mosquitoes don't get out much when the temperature goes below 60.
``The threat's not the same as in July or August, but we don't want people to think they can't worry about it," DeMaria said.
On warmer days and evenings, DeMaria said, it is still advisable to wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts and to apply insect repellent.
And that's not just because of Eastern equine encephalitis: Authorities remain on the lookout for another mosquito-borne illness, West Nile virus.
This year's third human case of that disease in Massachusetts was reported yesterday.
The patient, a 55-year-old woman from Billerica, did not require hospitalization and is recovering.
She is related to an Arlington woman who was also stricken with West Nile.
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...60926033656&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0&cid=0