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Sleeping sickness or Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has claimed live of another person in New Hampshire, taking the death toll to two in the state this season.
The person died by the arbovirus spread by the mosquito in mid-September, confirmed the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Including the victim, the mosquito-bitten sometimes fatal disease has so far affected three people, while two have died from EEE in the state this season.
Condoling the death of the victim, Dr. José Monterow, DHHS Public Health Director, said, “Our sympathies are with the family of this individual as they grieve the unfortunate death of their loved one.”
“It is important that everyone in New Hampshire remember to continue to take steps in order to prevent mosquito bites to themselves and their loved ones until the season ends with a hard frost,” Monterow said in a statement.
The disease is still very rarely found in human. Its more serious form is found in only about four percent of humans. Over the last decade, the disease is more prevalently in New England.
In most of the cases, its early symptoms arrive in the flu-like form roughly three to ten days following a mosquito bite. Some of the symptoms include muscle pain, headache, high fever and disorientation.
The four percent of humans who develop neuroinvasive EEE or encephalitic can experience brain inflammation after contraction, causing seizures or even coma.
Six to 10 cases of rare EEE are reported per year on average in the US. According to the health experts, the disease proves fatal for only about one-third of humans who suffer from more severe symptoms. And those who turn lucky enough to survive its neuroinvasive form are often left with developing brain damage.
