Two die from mosquito-borne disease, experts say public must protect themslves from bites

According to health officials, a rare mosquito-borne disease has killed a young girl and an elderly man who lived in neighboring towns, and they are urging people to protect themselves against the insects.

The two victims became ill with the dangerous Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, known as EEE, within days of a third woman who also lives nearby.

She is in a serious condition, say officials.

In recent weeks four New Hampshire residents have also become ill with the virus but none have died.

Dr. Al DeMaria, state director of communicable disease control, says it is unclear how or when the disease was contracted by the 5-year-old girl and the 83-year-old man, who lived in the state's southeastern arm.

DeMaria says it is critical that residents protect themselves from mosquito bites,as mosquitoes will be biting until the first frost appears.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have only been 200 confirmed cases of EEE since 1964 in the United States.

As a rule the disease kills around 35 percent of the people who contract it, and causes mild to severe neurological problems in another 35 percent.

Symptoms which range from mild flu-like illness to inflammation of the brain, can cause coma and death.

To date there is no licensed vaccine for humans. The virus also affects birds and horses.

The young girl, from Halifax, became ill on August 26 and died on September 4. Although lab tests later identified the disease, results of a final test are pending.

The man, from Kingston, became ill on August 21 and died five days later.

Tests confirmed the disease a week after he died.

Last year, Massachusetts had four confirmed human EEE cases, two of them fatal.

Massachusetts is among the states that has had the largest number of cases; others are Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey.

As of last week, the state had tested around 120,000 mosquitos for EEE, and only 15 tested positive for the virus.