Beware Of Mosquitos In MA With EEE Still A Threat: Health Dept.

WAYLAND, MA — Just a few months before coronavirus hit, Massachusetts was in the grips of another epidemic: Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

The rare but deadly mosquito-borne disease typically comes in three-year cycles, which means there's still a EEE threat this summer. This week, the Wayland Health Department issued a warning to residents to be on the lookout for mosquito breeding areas due to recent rain and warm weather.

Mosquito spraying is underway at wetlands and catch basins across the region. But mosquitoes also breed in backyards that may not necessarily be treated.

"This mosquito species prefers to breed/lay eggs in small artificial containers such as birdbaths, old tires, buckets, clogged gutters, and other standing water sources which can be found in people’s backyards and other similar areas of the suburbs," the warning said referring to Cutex mosquito species, which are common in Middlesex County and carry EEE.

The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has not yet released 2021 data on either EEE or West Nile infections. Last summer, 66 mosquitoes and five people tested positive for EEE, and 97 mosquitoes and eight people tested for West Nile, according to DPH.

Apart from getting rid of standing water, Wayland health officials reminded residents to wear bug spray while outdoors, and to avoid peak mosquito hours around dawn and dusk.

You can check schedules for spraying from the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project (Framingham, Wayland, Sudbury), and the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project (Milford, Natick, Marlborough).