Middlesex County alpaca contracts West Nile Virus; state urges non-alpacas to be more careful in eastern Mass.

The authorities Department of Public Health yesterday announced the state's archetypal carnal lawsuit of West Nile Virus: In an alpaca, determination successful sprawling Middlesex County, a week aft 4 quality cases had been confirmed successful the state.

With some radical and animals present getting infected with the mosquito-borne virus, successful a summertime that has seen higher-than-average amounts of mosquito-pool-generating rain, the authorities has raised its hazard level for the microorganism from mean to precocious successful 27 communities: Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop; Lynnfield and Saugus successful Essex County; and Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Everett, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Reading, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Winchester and Woburn successful Middlesex County; Brookline successful Norfolk County.

The microorganism typically produces mild flu-like symptoms successful different steadfast younger people, but tin beryllium much terrible successful radical with impaired immune systems oregon who are implicit 50, the authorities says.

While we counsel everyone to instrumentality steps to debar mosquito bites, this is particularly important if you are implicit the property of 50 oregon person an immune compromising condition. It is besides important to cognize that arsenic overnight temperatures get cooler, mosquito enactment close astir dusk and dawn whitethorn beryllium much intense.

Alpaca photograph by this Creative Commons license.