Two additional cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) have been confirmed in New Hampshire, state health officials announced. Adults from Derry and Newmarket were both hospitalized but have since been discharged. The EEE virus is a rare but serious disease that can cause flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, muscle aches and joint pain, and can also lead to neurological disease such as encephalitis and meningitis (brain and spinal cord inflammation), the Department of Health and Human Services said.
In August, the Division of Public Health Services said an adult from Hampstead was hospitalized with “severe central nervous system disease,” and died from the illness -- the first human EEE infection reported in New Hampshire since 2014, health officials said. An adult from Kensington who reported experiencing symptoms on Aug. 8 was hospitalized and discharged.
In addition to the four human cases, the state health department has identified EEE in four horses (Kensington, Danville, Dunbarton and Northwood) and 15 batches of mosquitoes tested through Aug. 29. Human cases also have been reported in Massachusetts and Vermont, officials said.
The most recent batches to test positive were in Danville, Fremont and North Hampton, officials report. In addition to EEE virus, mosquitoes can transmit infection from West Nile virus and Jamestown Canyon virus, state health officials said. An adult in Swanzey tested positive August 16 for both West Nile Virus and Jamestown Canyon V.