Rare mosquito virus kills man in New Hampshire

The outbreak has prompted curfew measures and warnings across several US states

A man from New Hampshire has become the first person to die of a rare but extremely dangerous mosquito-borne virus that has prompted curfew measures and warnings across several US states.
Steven Parry, a 41-year-old medical worker from Hampstead, a town about an hour north of Boston, had no underlying health conditions and died within a week of catching Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), his family told US broadcaster CBS.
EEE kills around a third of those infected with it and often leaves survivors severely disabled.
In a tribute posted online, Mr Parry’s family described him as an “avid golfer” who was “stricken by a sudden and rare brain infection”. 
Mr Parry’s death came after several states warned of the danger posed by an outbreak of EEE.
Neighbouring Massachusetts last week announced it would shut parks, playgrounds and other public spaces and urged people to stay indoors between dusk and dawn to reduce the risk of people being exposed to mosquitoes carrying the virus, after an 80-year-old man was infected.
Although most commonly found on the East Coast of the US, where an average of seven human cases are reported during the annual mosquito season, the virus has also been detected in Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
First identified in horses in Massachusetts in 1938, EEE is carried by wild birds and rodents, which then pass it to mosquitoes that feed on them. Once infected, these mosquitoes can transmit the virus to humans through their bites. 
Humans and horses are considered “dead-end hosts”, meaning they do not have enough virus in their blood to pass the virus on again.
Cases usually appear between July and September when mosquito numbers are at their highest and outbreaks usually end with the arrival of the first winter frosts, which kill off the insects.
Symptoms include fever, headaches, chills, and vomiting, which can escalate to brain swelling, coma, and death in about one-third of cases. Survivors often suffer from long-term mental and physical disabilities, ranging from memory loss to paralysis. 
“The disease is especially severe in people under five and over 60. Even if it doesn’t result in death, it often causes life-changing brain damage,” said Dr Naomi Forrester-Soto, an epidemiologist at the Pirbright Institute. 
There are currently no medicines or vaccines to treat EEE. 
This summer, at least four other human cases have been detected in Vermont, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, although no further deaths have been reported. 
Samples from mosquitoes, birds, and other animals carrying the virus have tested positive for EEE in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Maine, and New York.
While the presence of the virus in non-human hosts doesn’t guarantee human cases in these states, it does increase the risk. 
The last significant outbreak of EEE began in 2019, with Massachusetts reporting 12 human cases and six deaths.
The disease is probably peaking again this year due to recent weather patterns, said Dr Forrester-Soto. 
“This spike is seasonal and expected, it’s not the first time we have seen a rise in the number of cases,” said Dr Forrester-Soto.
The US is also suffering a surge in cases of West Nile Fever, a less lethal virus also carried by mosquitoes.
Anthony Fauci, who was the face of the US government’s Covid-19 response, spent several days in hospital after being infected.
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