A human case of Eastern equine encephalitis has been confirmed in Massachusetts, the first in the state in six years, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.The DPH said laboratory testing confirmed the EEE virus infection in a man older than 60 from southern Plymouth County. State health officials did not indicate which community the man resides in.This is the first human case of EEE in Massachusetts since 2013.As a result, state health officials raised the risk level to critical in nine southeastern Massachusetts communities on Saturday.The communities on the critical risk list are Carver, Lakeville, Marion, Middleborough, Rochester and Wareham in Plymouth County and Acushnet, Freetown and New Bedford in Bristol County.“Today’s news is evidence of the significant risk from EEE and we are asking residents to take this risk very seriously,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD. “We will continue to monitor this situation and the impacted communities.”The Marion Board of Health is closing all town beaches, parks and ball fields at 6 p.m. Saturday until further notice. All outdoor events on town-owned property have been closed. Officials recommend that residents remain indoors after 6 p.m.The Wareham Board of Health has canceled all activities from dusk to dawn until further notice. Officials are urging people who are outside after dusk to take all possible precautions.In addition to the nine communities now at critical risk, 15 communities in southeastern Massachusetts have been determined to be at high risk for the EEE virus and 18 are at moderate risk, according to the DPH.This week, the DPH and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources announced they would be conducting and monitoring aerial spraying in specific areas of Bristol and Plymouth counties to reduce the mosquito population and public health risk. Aerial spraying began Thursday and is expected to continue throughout the weekend during evening and overnight hours.Residents are encouraged to visit the DPH website at this link for the latest updates on spraying in their communities. EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages. The virus has been found in 227 mosquito samples this year, many of them from species of mosquito that are capable of spreading the virus to people.The most recent EEE outbreak periods in Massachusetts occurred from 2004-06 and 2010-12. According to the DPH, there were 22 human cases of EEE infection during those two outbreak periods with 14 cases occurring among residents of Bristol and Plymouth counties.