Three people have died as a result of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). State health experts say this is the worst year of the mosquito-borne viruses for people in 63 years.
This year's first case was two months ago in mid-July. Then, an official said a couple of weeks would be enough time to see how bad the season could get, but it's hard for anyone to imagine it would get to this point.
>> JUST IN: DPH: 12th human case of EEE confirmed, 4th death was improperly announced
Now, mosquito behavior has changed our own.
Even more troubling, as the calendar turns, trapping and killing mosquitoes is harder, the health department says, because their behaviors change.
"I'm even careful when I come to pick up the newspaper in the morning," said Dick Hardy of Framingham. "You have to be careful with it, and it's a little scary because obviously anyone who might get one mosquito bite, they might flake out about it though your chances are still pretty small with one bite."
Hardy lives next to Bowditch Field, a popular spot in Framingham for exercise and school sports. The field isn't open late because of the risk of EEE.
"The teams, the sports teams that play over on the field, they are very careful to get off by late afternoon," said Hardy.
State health officials told Boston 25 News this is the worst year for the virus since 1956:
"Mosquito surveillance data and both animal and human cases have shown that 2019 is the most active EEE year that Massachusetts has had since 1956 when we had 12 human cases in one year. In addition to the intensity of the activity (as measured by number of EEE positive mosquito samples and human cases), the geographic distribution of that activity has been unusually widespread."
There is no cure for EEE, a deadly virus that attacks the brain. It's rare, but over the past two months, we've seen 12 human cases in the Commonwealth, the first outbreak since 2012, and three deaths.
"This is somewhat unusual, we know that outbreaks like that come in cycles, every few years we seem to have a cycle like that, this seems like the beginning of a cycle," said Dr. Sam Wong, Framingham Health Department.
While younger children and older adults are more likely to contract EEE, Framingham's director says everyone should take precautions by wearing long sleeves and pants, bug spray, and avoiding outdoors from dusk to dawn.
"Mosquitoes don't discriminate when they bite, we advise everybody to take personal precautions, to be on the safe side," said Wong.
Last month, aerial spraying was done in communities across the state. Officials told us that mosquito control becomes less and less effective during September, "Due to change in mosquito behavior, mosquito control becomes less and less effective during September. Local mosquito control projects stop their ground spray around the first week in September because of this and additional aerial sprays are not planned."
The state health department says mosquito populations tend to decline this time of year, but because trapping is harder, they can't tell the rate of infection, so fewer mosquitoes could be just as dangerous.
"Mosquito populations are beginning to decline and at this time of year, mosquito behavior changes and it becomes increasingly difficult to trap them. This results in smaller sample sizes and makes it very difficult to assess EEE infection rates."
Boston 25 News Meteorologists are forecasting a warm October. We asked health officials if this is cause for concern. They told us, "Although mosquito behavior changes at this time of year largely due to daylight length, warmer weather still encourages increased mosquito activity. In addition, people are more likely to be outdoors without long sleeves and pants and therefore it becomes even more important to use mosquito repellent and take other steps to avoid mosquito bites."
>> More EEE content from Boston 25 News:
[ DPH: 12th human case of EEE confirmed, 4th death was improperly announced ]
[ EEE concerns causing worry for those who want to attend Topsfield Fair ]
[ A mother hopes her daughter's EEE death can lead to a cure ]
[ Are we out of the woods yet with mosquitoes and EEE? If not, when? ]