The Bay State plans to start spraying for mosquitoes in more than a dozen communities on Tuesday, as the region faces an outbreak from the rare but serious EEE virus.
Aerial and truck-mounted ground spraying for mosquitoes will begin on Tuesday evening, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and Department of Public Health.
This comes after the state announced this year’s first human case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus infection, a man in his 80s who was exposed to EEE in Worcester County. During the last EEE outbreak in Massachusetts a few years ago, there were 17 human cases and seven deaths.
The ability to spray is weather dependent, but the plan is for aerial spraying to start on Tuesday evening in parts of Plymouth County along with truck spraying in southern Worcester County.
The aerial spraying will take place in: Carver, Halifax, Kingston, Middleboro, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, and Wareham.
The truck-mounted ground spraying will take place in: Douglas, Dudley, Oxford, Sutton, and Uxbridge.
For both aerial and truck-mounted applications, spraying begins at dusk and continues until about 4:30 a.m. the next day.
“Aerial spraying is planned to begin Tuesday evening, with the possibility of additional spraying another evening,” officials said in a statement. “Truck-mounted spraying will begin Tuesday evening and continue for additional days. Due to upcoming variable weather patterns, the timeline is subject to change.
“If planes or trucks are seen in your area prior to dusk, they are either getting in position or scouting out the area prior to starting the spray,” officials added.
A few days ago, Plymouth announced that its public parks and fields will close daily from dusk until dawn in response to the town’s high risk for EEE. Athletic leagues and other organizations using public parks and fields will be banned from continuing outdoor activities beyond dusk.
EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages, and is generally spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. The EEE fatality rate in humans varies from 33% to 70%, with most deaths occurring 2 to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
Long-term physical and mental complications, including permanent neurological deficits, have been identified in many people who survive EEE.
For the spraying, the pesticide used is Anvil 10+10 — an EPA-registered product extensively tested and used in both ground-level and aerial spraying in the U.S. to control mosquitoes.
Anvil 10+10 is applied using an ultra-low volume aerosol that uses very small quantities of the insecticide, officials said, adding that it’s unlikely a person would be exposed to amounts that would cause adverse health effects.
“All residents are reminded to continue protecting themselves from mosquito bites by applying insect repellent with an EPA-registered active ingredient whenever they are outdoors,” officials said. “Communities at high and critical risk are advised to schedule outdoor activity to avoid dusk to dawn hours, in order to minimize exposure to the mosquitoes most likely to spread EEE.”
