EEE Mosquitoes Found In 2 More Mass. Towns

State health officials say mammal-biting mosquitoes infected with Eastern equine encephalitis have been found in two more Massachusetts communities.

The state health department said Thursday it has raised the EEE threat level to "high" in New Bedford and Westborough. They are recommending that outdoor evening events be curtailed there for the rest of the summer. Officials said ground-based mosquito spraying in those towns will be stepped up.

"In those communities there's a better-developed road system, so ground-based spraying can be more effective in those areas than it is in most of southeastern Massachusetts," said Catherine Brown, with the health department.

EEE-bearing mosquitoes have been found at dangerous levels in several southeastern Massachusetts communities, where aerial spraying has been conducted.

There has been one confirmed human case of EEE this year, in a Metrowest-area resident believed to have contracted it out-of-state.

Two EEE cases were reported last year, one fatal.

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom