NH residents dies from EEE, first reported case in humans in 10 years

A New Hampshire resident has died after being infected with EEE virus, a mosquito-born illness that hadn’t been seen in people in this state since 2014.

The news, released Tuesday, comes as Massachusetts is seeing a surge in mosquitoes carrying the Eastern equine encephalitis virus as well as people getting sick from it. One human case has also been reported in Vermont.

The last reported human EEE infection in New Hampshire was a decade ago, when the Department of Health and Human Services identified three human infections, including two fatalities. EEE virus has been detected in one horse and seven mosquito batches in New Hampshire so far this summer. 

EEE has traditionally been largely confined to the Seacoast regions, where low-lying wet areas allow mosquitoes to breed.

An increase in warm, wet weather caused by climate change has enabled mosquito-carried diseases to move north into places where long winters once kept the population down. This year Massachusetts is cautioning people not only about West Nile virus and EEE but also dengue, a deadly disease that until recently was found only in semi-tropical and tropical areas.

A shortage of good vaccines for such diseases means that avoiding being bitten is more important than ever.