If untreated, the bacteria can infect almost any site in the body. It is treatable with antibiotics. Cases occur year-round throughout Massachusetts, but most frequently occur during the warm weather on the Cape, North Shore, and the Connecticut River Valley. Disease typically appears as a high fever with severe headache and tiredness. A rash that spreads to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet occur in about half of all cases.
Antibiotics can be effective.
Cases occur in the warm weather and most frequently on the Cape and in central Massachusetts. Only a few of the many types of mosquitoes in Massachusetts can transmit the EEE virus. Of those that can, only a small portion are actually infected. Only a minority of each of those types of ticks are ever infected at any one time. Thus, being bitten by a mosquito or tick does not mean a person will become sick.