Health
What is EEE, the mosquito-borne disease that killed a New Hampshire man?
A rare, potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease has sparked concern in the Northeastern U.S.
Last week, a man from Hampstead, New Hampshire, died after testing positive for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).
The man “was hospitalized due to severe central nervous system disease, and has passed away due to [the] illness,” according to a statement from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT DIES AFTER EEEV INFECTION, AS RARE, LETHAL MOSQUITO-BORNE VIRUS SPREADS IN NEW ENGLAND
Another New Hampshire man, Joe Casey, is currently in the ICU on a ventilator after contracting three mosquito-borne illnesses, including EEE, according to local reports.
In late August, four Massachusetts towns — Douglas, Oxford, Sutton and Webster — set a voluntary evening lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
A rare, potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease has sparked concern in the Northeastern U.S. (iStock)
That decision came after the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed the first human case of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) since 2020 in Worcester County, affecting an elderly man in Oxford.
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As of Aug. 27, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported four total cases of the virus in 2024, although that data is subject to change.
There were seven cases reported in 2023, one case in 2022, five in 2021 and 13 in 2020.
The year 2019 saw a spike, with 38 cases reported.
What is Eastern equine encephalitis?
Eastern equine encephalitis is caused by a virus that is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, according to the CDC, which describes EEE as a “rare but serious disease.”
Only a few cases are reported in the U.S. each year, most in the Eastern or Gulf Coast states.
In late August, four Massachusetts towns — Douglas, Oxford, Sutton and Webster — set a voluntary evening lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. (iStock)
Humans and other animals that contract the virus are considered “dead-end hosts,” the CDC states, which means they can’t spread it to mosquitoes that bite them.
“While EEE is widespread in the Western Hemisphere, it normally affects animals such as large mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and rarely causes clinical infection in human beings,” Dr. Eyal Leshem, director of the Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, told Fox News Digital.
What’s causing the uptick?
While EEE was previously “very uncommon” in the U.S., there is the potential for these types of viruses to become more prevalent across the country, according to Dr. Edward Liu, chief of infectious diseases at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
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“As warm seasons get longer, mosquitoes have more time to breed,” Liu told Fox News Digital.
“If heavy rains cause standing pools of water, that will create an environment for larger mosquito populations.”
The CDC recommends using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and treating clothing and gear with permethrin, which is an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, confirmed that the virus has been “exceedingly rare, though “frequently disabling (neurologically) and deadly.”
He also told Fox News Digital, “I don’t think it will become a problem, as it is very rare, with just a few cases per year, but the fear of it is spreading.”
Symptoms of the virus
Common symptoms of EEE include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, stiff neck, seizures, behavioral changes and drowsiness, per the CDC.
These usually appear five to 10 days after being bitten.
The disease can be deadly, resulting in fatalities for 30% of infected people.
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“Sometimes patients exhibit a change in mental status or other neurological symptoms, which are linked to inflammation in their meninges (membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord) or their brains,” said Leshem.
“There is no specific drug or antiviral that has proven effective in treating EEE.”
Older people and those who are immunocompromised are at the highest risk for mosquito-borne encephalitis.
Common symptoms of EEE include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, stiff neck, seizures, behavioral changes and drowsiness. (iStock)
The disease is also more dangerous if it occurs in tandem with other viral infections that cause encephalitis, according to Liu.
“We know ticks can carry more than one pathogen, so it would be concerning if mosquitoes carry more than one pathogen,” he said.
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The only treatment for EEE is supportive care to manage symptoms.
“There is no specific drug or antiviral that has proven effective in treating EEE,” Leshem said.
There is also no vaccine available for Eastern equine encephalitis.
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“Testing for encephalitis is still not very available outside of hospitals, and sometimes not accurate,” Liu warned.
“It would not be surprising if its testing confused two similar viruses, as the antibody testing we use is not always accurate.”
Preventing infection
Protecting against mosquito bites is the best way to prevent infection, experts agree.
“We need to make sure that mosquito control programs stay strong,” said Liu.
Stagnant water attracts mosquitoes, experts say. Eliminating standing water is one way to prevent breeding. (iStock)
“We cannot rely on each homeowner to pay for mosquito control services. In New Jersey, mosquito control is county-based and therefore at the mercy of the county budget.”
“Testing for encephalitis is still not very available outside of hospitals, and sometimes not accurate.”
The CDC recommends using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and treating clothing and gear with permethrin, which is an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes.
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Taking steps to control mosquitoes indoors and outdoors can also help prevent infection, the agency states on its website.
Some recommended strategies include using screens on windows and doors, using air conditioning when possible, and eliminating standing water where mosquitoes tend to lay their eggs.
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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