By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

State health officials reported that an 80-year-old Hooksett man has died of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquitoborne disease that claims the lives of about a third of affected humans.

It's the second fatal case of EEE in New Hampshire, and the sixth reported case in the state this year.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, the man died on Sept. 11, after being hospitalized earlier in the month.

On Sunday, Sept. 25, the New Hampshire Sunday News reported the identity of the victim as Edwin R. Stephens Jr.

According to an obituary that ran in the Sept. 22 edition of The Hooksett Banner, Stephens, a New Jersey native, died on Sept. 11. The obituary recalls Stephens as a former U.S. Air Force B-25 bomber pilot and business owner who enjoyed tennis, golfing, hunting with his dogs and canoeing.

Stephens is survived by his wife Leontyna, and two generations of family throughout the region.

"Our hearts and thoughts and prayers are with this person's family right now," said Greg Moore, a spokesman for the the Department of Health and Human Services, which withholds the names of EEE victims in the interest of confidentiality.

Moore warned area residents to take precautions to protect against the disease, which can attack the central nervous system causing seizures and/or coma. Of those that do survive infection, many can suffer permanent brain damage and can require lifelong institutional care, according to state health officials.

"It's very rare," said Moore, "but very serious."

Moore said the 80-year old likely contracted EEE in Hooksett, as he hadn't traveled recently. He added that evidence of EEE has been found through mosquito trapping and birds locally and statewide.

"We know that EEE is in Hooksett," he said. "It's something that everyone in Hooksett should keep in mind."

Moore said EEE has been discovered this year from the New Hampshire Seacoast to as far west as Dublin, and from points along the Massachusetts border to as far north as Berlin.

EEE has thus far affected four people in Massachusetts, killing two.

Despite the prevalence of the disease this year, Moore said only 200 human cases have been discovered since 1964. Also, he said, 2005 saw the first human cases of EEE since 1981.

"The epidemiology is not something you can fully understand with so few cases in so many years," said Moore, adding that the Department of Health and Human Services has requested legislation that would allow New Hampshire municipalities financial relief for preventative measures such as spraying for mosquitos or larvaecide, which prevents mosquitoes from breeding in treated pools of water.

In the meantime, however, Moore urged all southern New Hampshire residents to protect themselves from the disease by wearing long sleeves outdoors, using insect repellent with DEET, staying indoors when mosquitos are active and avoiding pools of standing water.

Moore said mosquito activity has waned some due to cooler weather, but won't cease entirely until a freeze.