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Worcester Man Dies After West Nile Infection

BOSTON (CBS) - A Worcester resident who was diagnosed with West Nile Virus in August has died.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced the death Friday, along with three other confirmed human cases of WNV in Massachusetts.

According to officials, the man who died was in his 60s and had "severe underlying medical conditions."

It is the first WNV death in the state this year, and the first since 2005. Another Worcester County man died from EEE earlier this month.

The other confirmed cases include a Middlesex County resident in her 60s who is recovering from the illness. Two people in Greater Boston, a woman in her 70s and another woman in her 50s, are also both recovering.

The DPH has raised the WNV and EEE threat levels in every Massachusetts city and town to "Moderate," unless it was already at a higher level.

"Taken together, all of these findings point to the fact that the threat of mosquito-borne illness is very real in Massachusetts no matter where you live," DPH State Epidemiologist Dr. Al DeMaria said in a statement. "Keep using insect repellant and avoid outdoor activities at dusk and after nightfall until the first hard frost, when we can be sure that the threat of mosquitoes has passed."

The report coincides with a report from earlier Friday which confirmed the first human case of WNV in Boston.

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