Natick High School postpones first football game due to West Nile Virus concerns

The state has issued a new warning about an elevated vulnerability of the West Nile Virus including in Natick An email sent to Natick High School families reported the first football contest of the year was postponed I get the safety concern cause like you don t want anyone getting sick Benjamin Araujo disclosed Natick High School freshman A sign was posted at the field gates letting fans know that the meeting on Friday night is off due to high mosquito activity and West Nile concerns It s supposed to be the opening tournament tonight Eugenya Clark disclosed a Natick resident who planned on going to the encounter So it s really unfortunate It was pretty sad because I was gonna go with my friends Remy Beattie declared Natick High School freshman State healthcare functionaries say nearly mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile Virus since June We ve indeed had a very large number of mosquitos identified carrying West Nile Virus since very early this season Dr Catherine Brown noted State Epidemiologist with the Massachusetts Department of Citizens Physical condition Four human cases have been endorsed in the state Doctors say cases can range from having no effects at all to serious illness The hazard is greater for adults above and immunocompromised individuals The danger really goes away with the first hard frost and that may not be coming for a while so we have weeks ahead of us where we need to be protecting ourselves Dr Shira Doron declared Chief Infection Control Officer with Tufts Medicine Natick s postponed competition was originally scheduled for dusk on a field next to a large pond creating what executives call ideal conditions for mosquitos They didn t want people to get bit and they want people to stay safe Isaac Smith stated Natick High School freshman We ve got to be aware of our wellbeing risks here and this is spreading so you gotta make sure that people are safe Clark noted