5-Year-Old Sudbury Girl In Critical Condition After Testing Positive For EEE Virus

A 5-year-old girl from Sudbury and a woman from Northborough are the two latest Massachusetts residents to contract Eastern equine encephalitis.

Town officials in Sudbury said the girl is in critical condition.

This summer, seven human cases of EEE have been confirmed in Massachusetts, including a woman in Fairhaven who died from the mosquito-borne virus. The State Department of Public Health is warning residents in dozens of communities to protect themselves from mosquitoes.

Dr. Paul Sax is the medical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He spoke with WBUR Weekend Edition's Sharon Brody about the virus.