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.
NORTHEASTERN TOWNS ISSUE VOLUNTARY LOCKDOWN TO PREVENT SPREAD OF MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE
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.
IS MPOX THE NEXT COVID? INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERTS ADDRESS PANDEMIC POTENTIAL
“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.
‘SLOTH FEVER,’ OR THE OROPOUCHE VIRUS, HAS ENTERED THE US, HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW
“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.
ANTHONY FAUCI’S WEST NILE VIRUS DIAGNOSIS: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE
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.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
“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.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
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.
Over the two and a half years following the 2022 rollout of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline, the rate of suicides among young people in the United States dropped 11 percent below projections, decreasing most sharply in states with a higher volume of answered 988 calls, a new study has found.
The findings, published today as a research letter in JAMA, compared suicide deaths from July 2022 to December 2024 with sophisticated mathematical projections that were based on historical trends. This yielded good news, with 4,372 fewer suicides of adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 34, than had been projected.
To ensure that the decline was related to the use of the hotline, researchers at Harvard Medical School teased out the trends in states with high and low usage of the hotline. The findings were striking: The 10 states with the largest increases in 988 calls experienced an 18.2 percent reduction in observed suicides compared with expected suicides; in the 10 states with the lowest uptake, the reduction was smaller, 10.6 percent.
The results suggest that the government’s investment in the 988 rollout has translated into “a measurable reduction of deaths,” said Dr. Vishal Patel, a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and one of the authors of the study.
“What our study has added,” he said, “is evidence for the deeper benefit of the program, and that is, that at the population level, among young people at least, suicide mortality is lower than it would have been without the program.”
Tips for Parents to Help Their Struggling Teens
Are you concerned for your teen? If you worry that your teen might be experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, there are a few things you can do to help. Dr. Christine Moutier, the chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suggests these steps:
He added, “The implication of that is that sustained funding for this program matters.”
The United States rolled out the three-digit hotline with bipartisan support in July 2022, replacing a 10-digit hotline number, and augmented it with a $1.5 billion investment in crisis center capacity. Since its inception, the service has fielded more than 25 million contacts, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency has asked Congress for $534.6 million to fund the program for 2027.
Last summer, the Trump administration terminated one element of the hotline, the Press 3 option for L.G.B.T.Q.+ callers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that the Press 3 option was being discontinued because it had exhausted its funding from Congress and that the hotline would “focus on serving all help seekers.”
But advocacy groups and policymakers protested the decision, and in testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said his agency was planning to restore the Press 3 option.
Dr. Patel said his group had become curious about measuring the program’s effectiveness after Press 3 was eliminated. While call volume and satisfaction surveys suggested that 988 was succeeding, he said, the harder question was, “Did the creation of this 988 program, the transition from the old hotline to this hotline, actually move the needle on suicide mortality?”
Experts said it was difficult to tease out the beneficial effect of 988 from other things that changed in 2022, the year that the new hotline was created. Around that time, suicide prevention programs were being introduced in schools, in faith communities and on social media, but more important, the pandemic was ending.
“We were finally out of this crazy time, and there was a sense of optimism and hope,” said Jonathan B. Singer, a professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago and a co-author of “Suicide in Schools.” He called the downward trend in youth suicides “encouraging, but it is tempered by the fact that we don’t have a good explanation as to why.”
The authors acknowledged that their findings could not account for the influence of social and economic changes, changes in mental health services or public awareness about services.
But they did make comparisons to exclude other possible explanations. The authors looked for similar effects among American adults over 65, who are less likely to use the hotline. In that group, there was a reduction in suicides that exceeded expectations, but it was smaller, at just 4.5 percent.
To ensure the decline in suicides did not reflect a general improvement in young-adult mortality, the researchers tracked cancer deaths, and found there was no change. They also looked at the rates of suicide among young people in England, where no change had been made to the national crisis line in that time period; they found no reduction in youth suicides there.
Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said she was persuaded that the hotline had contributed to the improvement in suicide rates, in part because it did not appear among English youths or in older Americans.
“To me, that really helps hone in that this might really be the differentiator,” she said. “We are seeing potentially a pretty significant decline in suicides among young people. For public policy, this is strong evidence to double down on that we are doing.”
Emily Hilliard, a senior press secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, said H.H.S. and SAMHSA are “committed to ensuring that all Americans have access” the 988 line, which she said “clearly provides lifesaving support, helping millions of people every year.”
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A highly contagious digestive virus is surging across the U.S., experts warn.
Rotavirus, a double-stranded RNA virus, causes acute gastroenteritis — inflammation of the stomach and intestines — which can lead to severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain.
The virus primarily affects infants and young children, but there have also been outbreaks in elderly populations, such as nursing homes.
AT LEAST 46 CHILDREN DEAD AMID MEASLES OUTBREAK AS VIRUS SPREADS GLOBALLY
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in the week ending April 4, out of 2,329 rotavirus tests, 7.3% were positive for the infection. Last year’s highest infection rate was 6.77% as of the week ending April 19.
Rotavirus, a double-stranded RNA virus, causes acute gastroenteritis — inflammation of the stomach and intestines — which can lead to severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain. (iStock)
“We’re seeing a lot of rotavirus in the wastewater right now,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, confirmed to Fox News Digital. “Testing for rotavirus is way down, but the percentage of positive tests is up.”
While the virus typically peaks in the spring, it is not currently slowing down, he noted.
Why cases may be rising
Patricia Pinto-Garcia, M.D., a medical editor at GoodRx who is based in California, said there are several possible reasons for the rotavirus spike.
“Vaccine rates are down overall among young children, as they decreased during COVID,” she told Fox News Digital. “This means there’s a growing number of infants and young children who are vulnerable to infection.”
The rotavirus vaccine series must be completed by the time a child is 8 months old, she noted.
HEALTH ALERT ISSUED FOR DENGUE OUTBREAKS SPREADING IN TRAVEL HOTSPOTS
As a result of the declining vaccinations, herd immunity isn’t protecting vulnerable children, according to Pinto-Garcia. “Children who haven’t finished the vaccine series yet, are too young to get vaccinated, or can’t get the vaccine due to medical illness are more likely to get exposed to the illness because other children aren’t vaccinated,” she said.
Siegel noted that before the vaccine became available, rotavirus resulted in 55,000 to 70,000 in the U.S. per year.
“Vaccine rates are down overall among young children, as they decreased during COVID,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. “This means there’s a growing number of infants and young children who are vulnerable to infection.” (iStock)
“I am concerned that the vaccination rate has been declining over the past seven years and is continuing to decline in the current climate of vaccine skepticism,” he said.
Surveillance methods are also much better than they used to be, Pinto-Garcia noted, which means public health experts are able to pick up and track cases better than ever before.
HOW LONG YOU’RE CONTAGIOUS WITH THE FLU — AND WHEN IT’S SAFE TO GO OUT
“But we see that rotavirus-related healthcare visits are also up, so improved detection is not the only reason we are seeing this spike,” she said.
The COVID pandemic also disrupted the pattern of infections, according to Pinto-Garcia, so it’s “tricky” to compare the current levels against older cycles.
“It’s possible that what we are seeing is still some post-pandemic rebound, but it’s unlikely that this year’s pattern is fully explained by just this factor,” she added.
Transmission and risk
Dr. Zachary Hoy, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Pediatrix Medical Group based in Nashville, Tennessee, often sees young patients with rotavirus.
“Rotavirus is spread via the fecal-oral route, meaning that a person comes into contact with virus droplets from contact with other children or adults, or from contact with objects such as toys that have been contaminated with the virus from someone who is sick,” he told Fox News Digital. “This can lead to outbreaks, especially at schools where many young children share the same toys.”
“It’s possible that what we are seeing is still some post-pandemic rebound, but it’s unlikely that this year’s pattern is fully explained by just this factor.”
Rotavirus is associated with many dehydration cases in the hospital due to the degree of diarrhea, according to Hoy.
In some severe cases, the virus can lead to seizures due to electrolyte imbalances from dehydration and loss of electrolytes in the stool.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Younger children do not have the reserves that older children and adults have, so they can become more dehydrated quicker and develop more severe electrolyte imbalances, leading to more severe infections,” Hoy said.
“Patients with problems with their immune systems or on medications that can decrease their immune systems can have more severe and prolonged infections, too.”
Treatment and care
Because rotavirus is a viral infection, antibiotics are not effective against it. There is no specific antiviral treatment for the condition, with doctors typically recommending supportive care.
“The mainstay of treatment is hospitalization for rehydration via intravenous (IV) fluids,” Hoy told Fox News Digital. “Sometimes it can take up to two to three days of IV fluids to help get patients rehydrated.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
Blood draws are often necessary to evaluate patients’ electrolyte levels, such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, according to the doctor.
“If these electrolyte levels are significantly low, sometimes patients need special IV solutions or individual electrolyte medications,” he added.
“The mainstay of treatment is hospitalization for rehydration via intravenous (IV) fluids,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Dr. Daniel Park, medical director of the Pediatric Emergency Department at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, noted that most children recover with supportive care, but parents should seek medical attention if a child shows signs of dehydration. Those include decreased urination, lethargy or inability to keep fluids down.
“While rare, rotavirus can be life-threatening in vulnerable populations, especially very young infants or children with underlying medical conditions,” Park told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Prevention strategies
Given the lack of antiviral medications for rotavirus, doctors emphasize the importance of prevention, primarily the vaccine.
There are two rotavirus vaccines – Rotateq (a three-dose series) and Rotarix (a two-dose series). They are given starting at age 2 months as oral drops, not injections, according to Hoy.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“It’s important to get the rotavirus vaccines on schedule, because these younger infants are at greatest risk if they get rotavirus,” he advised.
Other recommended prevention methods include handwashing with soap and water.
Every day we’re faced with a zillion small choices: Go to sleep early, or watch one more episode of that Netflix drama. Call an old friend to catch up, or cruise social media. Of course, no single action will guarantee a long, healthy life or doom you to an early grave. But those little daily decisions do add up, and over the long term they can make a difference when it comes to both your longevity and your health span, the amount of life spent in relatively good health.
Scroll through this theoretical “day in the life” and select the option that best fits your typical day. Not every situation will apply perfectly, but think about which choice you’d be most likely to make. This isn’t a formal scientific assessment. The goal here isn’t to assign you a “good” or “bad” score, but to help you understand the central factors that shape the way we age and how long we live.
-
North Dakota4 minutes agoNorth Dakota Lands All-Conference ATH Brady Lee Out of Wisconsin
-
Ohio10 minutes agoNew mail-in ballot deadline as Ohio changes impact primary election
-
Oklahoma16 minutes agoBojangles announces events, giveaways planned for opening of OKC location
-
Oregon22 minutes agoThere’s Good News: A beaver birthday celebration at the Oregon Zoo!
-
Pennsylvania28 minutes ago93 animals living in ‘deplorable conditions’ rescued from Pennsylvania home
-
Rhode Island34 minutes agoRhode Island’s TF Green airport to add flights to Cabo Verde in May – The Boston Globe
-
South Dakota46 minutes agoSDDOT reminds public not to put election signs on state highway rights-of-way
-
Tennessee52 minutes agoWhat TV channel is Alabama baseball vs Tennessee today? Streaming, start times