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Massachusetts Reports 3 Human Cases Of West Nile Virus

In this Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 file photo, a trap holds mosquitoes at the Dallas County Mosquito Lab in Hutchins, Texas. (LM Otero/AP)
In this Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 file photo, a trap holds mosquitoes at the Dallas County Mosquito Lab in Hutchins, Texas. (LM Otero/AP)

State officials are reporting the first three confirmed human cases of mosquito-borne West Nile Virus in Massachusetts this year.

The Department of Public Health said Friday that none of the cases were fatal, though two required hospitalization. They involved a woman in her 70s from Worcester County, a woman in her 60s from Middlesex County and a woman in her 50s from Suffolk County.

Officials said a horse that was stabled in Hampshire County also contracted West Nile Virus and had to be euthanized.

On Tuesday, the agency announced it was raising the risk level for West Nile Virus from low to moderate throughout the state. It asked people to avoid mosquito bites using repellents, wearing long pants and long sleeves and getting rid of standing water.

The reports come just days after state health officials said they were ramping up the risk level for the disease from low to moderate for the second time ever.

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