Tufts sent out an advisory to the university community on Aug. 27 warning about a rise in mosquito-borne illnesses throughout Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has reported three human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and seven human cases of West Nile virus so far in 2024.
In a statement to the Daily, Marie Caggiano, medical director of health service, and Michael Jordan, university infection control director, wrote that Tufts follows guidance from the DPH on preventative measures against the viruses.
“Levels of EEE are not high in municipalities where Tufts campuses are located,” Jordan and Caggiano wrote. “At this point, there is no need to cancel any outdoor events. Tufts regularly monitors public data and is in contact with local health boards.” Caggiano and Jordan advised students and Tufts employees to take precautions to prevent mosquito bites, including avoiding outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, wearing long-sleeved shirts, putting on pants and socks and applying Environmental Protection Agency-approved insect repellent during outdoor activities.
They also advised community members to consider wearing clothing treated with permethrin, an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes to prevent bites, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says should not be applied directly to skin. Additionally, Caggiano and Jordan advised students and faculty to “mosquito-proof [their] homes by removing standing water where insects breed and [installing] or [repairing] window screens to help keep bugs out.”
“There is no vaccine to prevent EEE, and there are no medications to treat the virus, which is why it is so important to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites,” Caggiano and Jordan wrote.
West Nile Virus, the leading cause of mosquito-borne illness in the United States, does not cause symptoms in most people who contract the disease. EEE, however, is a rare but life-threatening disease that impairs brain function. When EEE is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, it can cause inflammation of the brain, leading to death in 30% of patients who contract it. Symptoms, which include fever, seizures and mental confusion, can begin 4–10 days after contracting the disease from an infected mosquito.
Anyone at Tufts who has mosquito bites and is experiencing these symptoms is advised to seek medical care as soon as possible. Currently, the Massachusetts DPH has listed the EEE risk level as “critical” in four towns in Massachusetts: Sutton, Webster, Oxford and Douglas.
The Tufts Mountain Club, which hosts hiking trips and other outdoor activities, says that they plan to continue their usual programming while taking precautions against mosquito bites. The club’s president, junior Xander Orth, told the Daily that the TMC is monitoring the risk levels of mosquito-borne illnesses around the Tufts area and near the Loj, the New Hampshire cabin where most of their programming takes place.
“We will be taking the precaution of providing bug spray both at Chet (17 Chetwynd) - our hub at Tufts - and up at the Loj, and encourage people to wear long sleeves or pants if able to while recreating outdoors,” Orth wrote in a message to the Daily. “Based on the current data, we’re confident we’ll be able to continue regular hiking, swimming, biking, climbing, and other outdoor programming!”
The DPH has begun spraying insecticides across parts of Plymouth County and southern Worcester County, two counties where the department has detected many positive mosquito samples of EEE and WNV. During the process of aerial spraying, the DPH uses an EPA-registered product called Anvil 10+10, which the department says is a highly effective method for killing mosquitoes that is used worldwide.
The DPH posts on its website a mosquito spray map to inform residents of when and where spraying will take place. According to their website, these pesticides are unlikely to cause adverse health effects, although residents in the affected areas can stay indoors during spraying to avoid exposure.
The DPH will continue to monitor state levels of WNV and EEE and post the data publicly on their website.
