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HAMPSTEAD, N.H. (WHDH) - A person from Hampstead, New Hampshire has died following an EEE infection, state officials announced.
The state Department of Health and Human Services in a statement said the person who died was an adult. They were hospitalized and died due to their illness.
“DHHS offers our sympathies to the individual’s family and friends,” the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, known as EEE, is a rare but serious virus transmitted by mosquito bites. Prior to this year’s infection, New Hampshire had not recorded a human case of EEE since 2014, when three people were infected. Two of the three people who contracted EEE in New Hampshire in 2014 died.
In 2024, in addition to the deadly human EEE case in Hampstead, New Hampshire officials said they detected EEE in one horse and seven mosquito batches.
For some, EEE causes no symptoms. For others, the virus can cause brain swelling. There is no vaccine or antiviral treatment for EEE.
While rare, EEE has cropped up in states around New Hampshire in 2024, including Massachusetts and Vermont.
To date, Vermont has recorded one human case of EEE and detected the virus in 47 mosquito samples.
Massachusetts has recorded one human case and one horse case. Officials have detected EEE in 69 mosquito samples.
Just four years after the end of an outbreak that infected 17 people between 2019 and 2020, crews in Massachusetts are set to begin spraying anti-mosquito pesticides in more than a dozen communities Tuesday in an effort to address the EEE threat.
Officials throughout the region have urged community members to stay safe, reminding people to use bug spray, wear long sleeves and pants when outside, and avoid outdoor activities in the early morning and evening.
“We’ve gotten many calls this morning since the news has been breaking and we’re recommending that people be hypervigilant,” said Kristopher Emerson, chief building official of the Town of Hampstead.
In addition to EEE, New Hampshire officials have warned residents about other mosquito-borne illnesses including West Nile Virus and Jamestown Canyon Virus.
“If this is going to be an issue, we are going to be stuck inside. I don’t want to risk anything with my kids,” said Hampstead resident Madison Garvey.
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