A TOWN has been placed under night time lockdown, as fears around a disabling disease spread by mosquitoes ramp up. Almost a dozen communities have also been designated at high or critical risk for the illness, after a man tested positive for it earlier this month and disease-carrying critters were spotted in the area. 2 Eastern equine encephalitis is a rare but potentially deadly virus that was first identified in horses Credit: Getty 2 It's spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes Credit: Getty Eastern equine encephalitis is a rare but potentially deadly virus that's spread from the bites of infected mosquitoes.
Known as EEE or 'triple E', the virus got its name after first being spotted in horses. But disease can be spread to people by mosquitoes who pick up the virus from infected animals. There are currently no vaccines or medicines available to treat EEE, which about 30 per cent of those infected die from, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
More on mosquito borne illness BUZZ OFF The 9 tropical diseases you can now catch in EUROPE, including 'breakbone fever' Only a few cases tend to be reported in the United States each year, the CDC says. But fears around the virus have placed 10 counties in Massachusetts on high alert. The state's health department announced on August 16 that man in his 80s had caught the virus in the town of Oxford.
It marked the first human case found in Massachusetts since 2020, after an outbreak saw .