EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Health and environmental officials in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are reminding people to keep protecting themselves from mosquito bites, as the risk of transmitted diseases remains.
Both states on Friday announced two additional cases of West Nile virus.
The R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM) said a Providence County resident in their 50s and a Newport County resident in their 60s have been identified as “probable cases.” That brings the yearly total to three confirmed cases of the virus and three probable cases.
The last round of statewide mosquito testing yielded no positive findings of West Nile virus or eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), according to the DEM.
In Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health (DPH) reported two additional cases of West Nile virus, bringing the total to 15 cases on the year. The DPH said one is a woman in her 60s who was likely exposed in Middlesex County and the other is a woman in her 70s who was likely exposed out of state.