HEATH — The town’s health board is urging residents to take precautions about the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) outbreak and weighing whether to join the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District to receive additional services.
Heath and Colrain are at a “critical” risk while Rowe, Charlemont and Shelburne are at “moderate” risk, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH). The warnings follow a northern Franklin County man being exposed to EEE.
Risk levels won’t change until the first hard frost, said Franklin Regional Council of Governments Public Health Nurse Lisa White.
Usually concentrated in southeast Massachusetts, the virus has not made its way to western Franklin County before, according to multiple regional public health workers including Sheila Litchfield, town nurse for Rowe of 15 years.
The Department of Public Health tested mosquitoes in five traps in the five towns over the weekend, White said. None tested positive for EEE.
While the Department of Public Health has said it will spray communities in eastern and central Massachusetts, this service will not extend to western Franklin County.
Board of Health Chair Betsy Kovacs said the state will be testing mosquitos in Heath again.
In the event that mosquitos test positive for EEE, Heath could have ground spraying and the state would likely pay for it since the town is in emergency status, Kovacs said at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting.
Kovacs said the “most important thing” is that “individual precautions be taken” to avoid mosquito bites.
While officials have advised residents to shift outdoor evening activities to indoors, Kovacs expressed concern about “the road crew, the fire department and the police.” She recommended that the town issue bug repellant to municipal employees who work outside.
The health board is considering joining the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District, Kovacs said. It discussed the issue at its Thursday meeting, deciding to continue learning more about its benefits, she said.
Established in 2017, the district would cost Heath an annual fee of $5,000 to join. It provides member towns “mosquito control services,” according to mass.gov, including water management, education and outreach, and larval and adult mosquito treatment, which includes pesticide spraying.
Two towns in Franklin County were members as of April 4: Deerfield and Bernardston.
While infection is rare, if a human contracts EEE, results can be fatal, board member Susan Gruen said Tuesday. The virus can cause brain infections and kills 30 percent of those who contract it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many survivors have ongoing neurological problems.
“Everybody is taking it very seriously,” Gruen said.
Reach Grace Bird at
gbird@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 280.