From the town's website:
On Tuesday afternoon, July 24 the Canton Board of Health was notified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that a sample pool of mosquitoes in Canton had tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or Triple E.
Triple E is a mosquito borne viral disease which can be transmitted to a person by certain mammal biting mosquitoes.
It is a rare, though dangerous disease which can cause serious neurological damage in infected people and can be fatal.
Symptoms include, but are not limited to, fever, headache, irritability, restlessness, drowsiness, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, swelling of the brain, coma, and in rare instances, death.
The mosquito pool testing positive for Triple E on Tuesday did consist of mammal biting mosquitoes and, therefore, poses a serious public health threat to Canton residents.
As a result, the risk level for contracting Triple E in Canton has been raised by MDPH from low to high.
Accordingly, the Board of Health is advising Canton residents to curtail evening and early morning outdoor sports or other activities until further notice to help reduce the likelihood of exposure to mosquitoes.
Steps should be taken by everyone to avoid any exposure to mosquitoes including rescheduling or cancelling evening and early morning outdoor activities, and by taking other measures to reduce mosquito exposure and proliferation.
For additional information on how to protect yourself from mosquitoes, please view the Triple E notice on the Town’s home page at www.town.canton.ma.us/.
Please note that most mosquitoes do not carry Triple E, though some might, and that Triple E is a very rare disease.
But if you think you have any of the above symptoms, contact your physician immediately.
The Canton Board of Health will continue monitoring this situation and will inform local media outlets of any changes or updates and will post them on the web.
In the meantime, the Norfolk County Mosquito Control Project has committed to increasing mosquito spraying in Canton due to the Triple E threat.
