The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has raised Milton and Quincy to high risk for West Nile virus after confirming the state's 12th human case of 2026. The state health department's announcement of the 12th case on Oct. 2 said the patient is a woman in her 60s who was likely exposed in Norfolk County.
The change pushes the high-risk zone beyond Boston's inner core and onto the South Shore. With the two additions, 13 communities are now at high risk: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Milton, Newton, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, Watertown, and Winthrop. "Most of the rest of the state is at moderate risk," the department said.
