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New Hampshire

Second EEE death confirmed in N.H.

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Second EEE death confirmed in N.H.


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EEE, which is spread through mosquitoes, is rare but dangerous. Two New Hampshire residents have died this year.

Mosquitoes spread EEE, which is rare but potentially very dangerous. Rick Bowmer / AP

Public health officials in New Hampshire recently confirmed that a second resident of the state died after testing positive for eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).

The person was only publicly identified as an adult from Danville. They were hospitalized and later died due to an EEE infection, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said. 

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This is the fifth confirmed case of EEE in New Hampshire this year, and the second fatal one. All five people contracted the virus in August, the spokesperson said. 

The family of 41-year-old Steven Perry, a Hampstead resident, identified him as the first person to die from EEE in New Hampshire in late August. He was hospitalized with a “severe central nervous system disease” before dying. 

EEE, which is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, is very rare. But cases spiked in New Hampshire and Massachusetts late this summer. Each state recorded four confirmed cases. 

There were just 13 confirmed cases throughout the entire country this year as of Oct. 1, according to the CDC. The fifth New Hampshire case would bring the national total up to 14. No other state besides New Hampshire and Massachusetts saw more than one confirmed case, as of the beginning of this month.  

As the weather cools and mosquito activity decreases, so does the risk of EEE. Some risk does still exist in southern New Hampshire. 

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“It’s important for New Hampshire residents and visitors to remember that as long as mosquitos are out and biting, some risk remains,” the spokesperson said in a statement. 

In Massachusetts, moderate EEE risk still exists in parts of the central and eastern areas of the state. Officials confirmed that an Acton man died in early September from EEE. The family of Basil Chigas, 76, questioned the state’s announcing practices in the wake of his death. 

About 30% of people who develop severe EEE die, and many survivors have to live with ongoing neurologic problems. Severe EEE can lead to neurologic diseases like encephalitis or meningitis, which are very dangerous. There are no vaccines to prevent EEE. Most people that catch EEE do not exhibit any symptoms. Those that do can suffer from fevers, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes, and drowsiness. 

The best way to avoid EEE is to wear insect repellent and long clothing, avoid outdoor activities from dusk to dawn, and get rid of standing water where mosquitoes can breed.

Ross Cristantiello

Staff Writer


 

Ross Cristantiello, a general assignment news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment, and more.

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New Hampshire

2 killed, 1 seriously injured in NH crash

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2 killed, 1 seriously injured in NH crash


Two people are dead and another person has serious injuries following a crash Friday in Rumney, New Hampshire.

The Rumney Fire Department says it responded to Route 25 just after 1:30 p.m. for a motor vehicle crash with entrapment. Crews, including from Plymouth-Fire Rescue and the Wentworth Fire Department, arrived on scene to find two vehicles in the road that appeared to have been involved in a head-on collision.

The driver from one vehicle was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, the fire department said. The driver and a passenger in the second vehicle were both pronounced dead on scene.

The victims’ names have not been released at this time.

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Route 25 was closed for approximately five hours for an on-scene investigation and clean up, the fire department said.

It’s unclear what caused the fatal crash. The Rumney Police Department is investigating.



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New Hampshire

Fireball spotted streaking over towns in southeast New Hampshire: video

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Fireball spotted streaking over towns in southeast New Hampshire: video


An eagle-eyed photographer captured the moment a shining fireball cut across the sky in southeast New Hampshire early Saturday evening.

Rob Wright, a professional photographer based in New Hampshire, shared dash camera footage of the suspected meteor — which he called a “bright green boldie” — blazing straight downwards while he was cruising through Portsmouth.

“That was one of the best I’ve seen and likely the best I’ve ever caught on camera,” Wright boasted on Facebook.

Dash camera footage captured a fireball beaming in the sky on Saturday. Rob Wright/Storyful

Wright was approaching a traffic circle in the coastal town when a pulsing yellow light appeared in the sky. It tracked downwards in a straight line and released a brighter spurt of light before disappearing entirely, all in the span of eight seconds, according to the video.

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Others in Nashua and Londonderry, both located southwest of Portsmouth and closer to the Massachusetts border, told WMUR that they also saw the suspected meteor.

The “bright green boldie” blazed over multiple towns in New Hampshire. Rob Wright/Storyful

Several other highlighted sightings around the same time in Dover, Bedford, Rindge, Hooksett and Jaffrey, which are all within a 90-mile radius of Portsmouth, according to the American Meteor Society.

Locals who follow Wright’s work reported seeing the fireball, too. One woman who also lives in Portsmouth commented that she “thought it must have been a firework.”

It’s unclear what exactly the fireball was.

It’s unclear what exactly the supposed fireball was. Rob Wright/Storyful

Meteorites present similarly to a fireball when they’re plummeting from orbit — but leave a more obvious impact.

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In August, a 3-foot meteor splintered in the air while it was flying over Georgia and left fragments scattered all over Newton County. The explosion caused a sonic boom equivalent to 20 tons of TNT exploding at once.

Pieces of the meteor were found all over the county, including one that crashed through the roof of a home.

Over the summer in 2024, a meteor disintegrated about 30 miles above Midtown Manhattan. The force shook parts of New York City, rattling midday commuters.



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Firefighters battle large blaze at home near NH’s Loon Mountain

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Firefighters battle large blaze at home near NH’s Loon Mountain


Firefighters from multiple northern New Hampshire communities helped battle a blaze at a home near Loon Mountain on Saturday night.

Campton-Thornton Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post Sunday morning that they responded to the fire on Crooked Mountain Road in Lincoln around 7 p.m. Several other area departments also responded and helped shuttle water to the scene from a site in nearby Woodstock.

No one was home at the time and no firefighters were injured battling the blaze. Fire crews cleared the scene around 4 a.m.

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