OXFORD, Mass. — With Massachusetts seeing its first human case of Eastern equine encephalitis in four years, some Worcester County communities are on high alert and considering new measures to protect people from being exposed to mosquitoes.

Eastern equine encephalitis, also known as EEE, is a potentially fatal disease transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. It can cause a high fever, a stiff neck, headaches and a lack of energy, sometimes leading to serious complications like inflammation and swelling of the brain.

While the chances of being infected are rare, some towns have historically taken a cautious approach to protect the public, including in 2019 when 12 cases and six deaths caused widespread closures of public recreation areas on town property.

These measures, local youth coaches and parents say, upended their fall season. As similar measures are currently being considered, they’re once again speaking out against them.

Philip Davis, president of the Oxford Little League, has emerged as a voice representing the town’s wider youth sports community, which has gathered more than 700 signatures against enacting restrictions that could place their fall season in jeopardy.

“The town at that time had basically shut down everything,” Davis said. “We were able to play on the weekends, so you don't have any practices during the week. You're not getting together. The kids aren't seeing each other. And then we were just trying to get out there for the weekends and do stuff, and it was all activities in town. It was difficult. It was very difficult.”

Still, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health considers the risk level in Oxford, Douglas, Sutton and Webster to be critical, so local health leaders feel it's their responsibility to consider all options to protect the community, even if they may be unpopular among some.

Rike Sterrett, Oxford director of public health services, said if public health measures do impact some fall sports leagues, organizers are urged to contact her office to coordinate indoor spaces or other alternatives.

“Between 2000 and 2023, Massachusetts has had 43 cases of EEE and 22 of them fatal, so this is a 51% mortality rate in Massachusetts,” Sterrett said. “So it might not be that common, but when it happens, it’s pretty fatal. And those that survive are often permanently disabled due to neurological damage. So we take this really seriously.”

But those petitioning restrictions believe families can make their own decisions, and youth sports are too valuable for children to interrupt.

“Let the parents be parents, let the parents make decisions for their kids,” Davis said. “We’re not forcing anybody to do anything.”

“To take away so much from so many people is extremely upsetting for what I personally think is an extremely small chance of getting bit by a certain mosquito with a certain disease,” said Joshua Ziemski.

For more information on the current status of EEE in Massachusetts, visit the Department of Public Health website.