A ProMED-mail post http://www.promedmail.org ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org Date: Tue 27 Aug 2024
Source: New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services [edited] https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/news-and-media/nh-dhhs-identifies-person-infected-eastern-equine-encephalitis-virus-new-hampshire
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) has identified an adult from Hampstead, New Hampshire who tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) infection, was hospitalized due to severe central nervous system disease, and has passed away due to the illness. DHHS offers our sympathies to the individual’s family and friends.
EEEV is a rare but serious disease transmitted to people by infected mosquitos. The last reported human EEEV infection in New Hampshire was in 2014, when DHHS identified 3 human infections, including 2 fatalities. In addition to the person with EEEV infection announced today [27 Aug 2024], EEEV has been detected in one horse and 7 mosquito batches in New Hampshire so far this summer. EEEV has also been detected in neighboring states, including in Massachusetts (one person, one horse, and 69 mosquito samples) and Vermont (one person and 47 mosquito samples).
Note: This article references a series of postings concerning EEEV activity in the NE USA. Increased EEEV combined with WNV activity has triggered evening curfews and widespread adulticide applications that have made the national news. EEEV in an Alphavirus within the family Togaviridae that is widely distributed east of the Mississippi River and throughout South America. In the eastern USA Culiseta melanura is the principal enzootic vector, with a series of Aedes, Coquillettidia and Culex species serving a bridge vectors. The virus is not found in California, although historically it was isolated from a deceased yearling horse with a travel history that died in San Bernardino during the spring of 2000.