Eastern equine encephalitis cases appear in Massachusetts, USA, and multiple towns implement nighttime lockdowns

On August 25 local time, according to the Associated Press, rare cases of eastern equine encephalitis have appeared in Massachusetts in the northeastern United States, attracting widespread attention.

Eastern equine encephalitis is a fatal disease with a mortality rate as high as 30%. Last week, Massachusetts health officials announced that a man from Oxford was diagnosed with this disease, which is the first human infection case in the state since 2020. In view of this, four high-risk towns including Douglas, Oxford, Sutton, and Webster have urgently implemented nighttime lockdowns since the 21st to prevent the epidemic from further expanding.

Callahan, the mayor of Oxford, said that the family members of the infected man have contacted the government. At present, the man is hospitalized and struggling tenaciously against the virus. At the same time, mosquitoes in the entire state have been detected to carry the virus. Therefore, residents are strongly urged to strictly abide by nighttime lockdown measures.

At present, there is no vaccine or effective treatment method for eastern equine encephalitis. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed out that although eastern equine encephalitis is relatively rare, the condition is extremely serious. Patients will experience symptoms such as fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, and epilepsy. About 30% of infected people will unfortunately die. The Massachusetts government also emphasized that people who survive eastern equine encephalitis often have lifelong disabilities, and very few people can fully recover.

This incident has brought great panic to local residents. Relevant departments are also actively taking measures to strengthen the monitoring and prevention and control of mosquitoes. At the same time, they are popularizing knowledge about preventing eastern equine encephalitis to residents and raising public awareness of prevention. People are looking forward to finding an effective countermeasure as soon as possible to control the spread of the epidemic and ensure the life, health and safety of residents.