EEE Now At Critical Risk In 36 Massachusetts Communities

BOSTON (CBS) – There are now 36 communities in Massachusetts at critical risk of Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

The total of cities and towns at risk was raised Friday after two more people were diagnosed with the disease – a 5-year-old girl in Sudbury who is in critical condition and a woman in her 60's from Northboro. A woman from Fairhaven died last month from EEE.

Check: Map Of Communities At Risk

The Department of Public Health has also listed 42 communities at high risk of EEE and 115 at moderate risk.

The last time Massachusetts had 7 human cases was back in 2012.

Read: EEE Fact Sheet

The health department said the best way to protect yourself is wear bug spray, drain standing water near your home and go inside at dusk and dawn. The risk of EEE won't truly be gone until the first frost kills the mosquito population. According to WBZ-TV's chief meteorologist Eric Fisher, that won't happen until October and maybe even November for some towns.

For more information on how you can protect yourself, visit the DPH web site.