Dept. of Public Health Confirms Four New West Nile Cases

The State Department of Public Health has confirmed reports of another four human cases of West Nile Virus in Massachusetts. According to officials with the Department, the new cases bring the total in the state up to seven so far this mosquito season.

According to WCVB5 in Boston, three of the four people infected are men, one in this 60s, and one in his 80s. All of them were exposed to the virus in Middlesex County. Officials have also diagnosed a 19-year-old woman with West Nile in Bristol County.

Because of the recent infections, the municipalities of Cambridge, Newton, Somerville, and Watertown in Middlesex County were all elevated to high risk for West Nile Virus. Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Sudbury, Waltham, Wayland, Weston, and Winchester, all in Middlesex County, were elevated to moderate risk. The communities of Dighton, Fall River, and Swansea in Bristol County were also elevated to moderate risk.

Most West Nile Virus activity this year has been focused in an area around Boston and includes parts of Norfolk, Middlesex, and Essex counties.

So far in 2020, there have been no reports of humane cases of the virus in Berkshire County.

Back in 2019, there were just five human cases of West Nile infection in Massachusetts. The virus is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. While it can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe disease.