Health Officials Release Summer Safety Tips

BOSTON -- Outdoor summer fun can turn dangerous if residents don't take steps to keep themselves safe from Eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus and Lyme disease.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported Friday that state health officials said this year could be worse than ever. Experts are counting, watching and testing the common household mosquito.

"I thought that all the rain would have flooded them, but no, apparently not," said Dr. Andrew Spielman, entomologist at Harvard Public Health. "It's too early in the year to see the risk."

But public health officials said the public should get into the habit now of using repellent and avoiding areas with large mosquito populations. The number of EEE and West Nile virus cases in Massachusetts the past two years has been steady and growing. They predict this year has the potential of even more cases.

"We're very focused on EEE, although it is a very rare infection. When it does occur, it's severe," Massachusetts Department of Public Health spokesman Dr. Alfred DeMaria said.

His advice is to start checking for ticks daily -- especially on young children. The cases of Lyme disease in Massachusetts have jumped to alarming rates in recent summers -- and not just on Cape Cod and the islands.

"Lyme disease is now a threat across the state. It's not an equal threat across the state. There are hot spots, current emerging areas of Lyme disease are occurring in the Metro West," DeMaria said.

Finally, the number of rabies cases identified in animals, particularly wild animals that are creeping closer to the suburbs, is growing.

"We don't have a good idea about how the winter was and how the new crop of animals are," DeMaria.

Health officials urged residents and local boards of health to report any dead bird so they can be tested for West Nile virus. Residents can call 866-MASS-WNV to report a dead bird.