CNN — The idea to end outdoor activities near sunset to protect people from a deadly mosquito-borne virus is not new. This year’s public outcry about the measure is.
In 2005, 2012 and 2019, towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut asked residents to curb outdoor activities during outbreaks of eastern equine encephalitis, an infectionalso known as EEE, with little fanfare or attention.
Last week, however, when officials in Oxford, Massachusetts, announced a voluntary curfew and urged residents to finish outdoor activities before 6 p.m. through the end of September – and 5 p.m. in October until the first hard frost – some residents weren’t happy.
About 200 showed up to a town meeting where the measure was discussed.
There wasn’t the same kind of protest over similar measures to prevent the spread of EEE in 2019, said Philip Davis, president of Oxford’s Little League.
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“The most horrific outbreak of EEE in the United States happened in Massachusetts in 1938, with 25 deaths in mostly children.”
“In my family, we were completely done when Covid ended. We were done being locked inside, being scared. Living scared is no way to live,” he said.
But with the 2019 EEE curfews in recent memory, followed shortly after that by Covid restrictions, he said, “I think everybody at this point in time was just, ‘Enough is enough. Let’s put the decision-making back to parents.’ ”
Eastern equine encephalitis is caused by a virus that’s passed to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
The virus often travels to the brain, where it causes swelling or inflammation. The first symptoms can include a sudden headache, high fever, chills and vomiting that may progress to disorientation, seizures and coma. Severe cases are rare.
About 11 human infections are reported in the US each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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This year, the CDC has identified four cases: one each in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Vermont. On Tuesday, New Hampshire health officials also announced that a person hospitalized with the virus had died.
The mosquitoes that spread EEE are most active at dusk and dawn …