By JOSEPH EDGERTON
jedgerton@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Many New Hampshire residents are concerned for their    family’s safety as the threat of eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, becomes a serious issue across New England.

For Linda Englehart of Bedford, the threat has hit home.

Englehart is the aunt of 9-year-old John Fontaine of Moultonborough, Mass., who died Thursday, Aug. 31, at Children’s Hospital in Boston. His death from the virus is the first in Massachusetts this year.
After reading an article in the Aug. 24 issue of The Bedford Bulletin, Englehart felt compelled to speak out about Bedford officials’ decision not to spray against the EEE virus.

“I was infuriated to read that our town manager’s position is apparently to sit back and wait and see since Bedford is 15 miles from where the positive mosquitoes were found in Manchester and that ‘there has been no money budgeted or spent because there is no need at this point,’” she said.

Her nephew rapidly succumbed to the virus. He went into a coma on Aug. 20 and never regained consciousness, Englehart said.

“He was playing football with his team on Aug. 19, and by Saturday (Aug. 20) evening, he was showing symptoms,” she said. “The next morning, his mom knew something was wrong. She knew he wasn’t feeling good. He didn’t contract it while playing football. He probably had it earlier, but it happened very fast.”

According to Massachusetts health officials, Fontaine may have contracted the virus between Aug. 8 and 15. The Moultonborough area had been treated by aerial spraying twice since Aug. 8.

“I know that the town is testing at Peter Woodbury School and Memorial School, but I’m not impressed with their answers or the testing process,” Englehart said. “For me, this is a very emotional issue.”

Although Bedford, along with Goffstown, Hooksett, Litchfield, Manchester and Merrimack, qualifies for up to 25 percent state reimbursement for mosquito-quelling activities, the town has not budgeted any money for EEE prevention.

Town Manager Keith Hickey said there have been no cases of EEE in Bedford in his memory, and the town has yet to test positive.

“At this point, we’re continuing with the ongoing testing. Both samples from the testing area came back negative,” he said. “We’re obviously concerned and we’ll address it if we need to.”

But prevention can avoid one family’s grief if a loved one contracts the EEE virus, Englehart said.

“I always thought it’s a shocking thing that just one mosquito can do this. I don’t understand why it’s not a proactive, preventative thing for the town,” Englehart said. “I’m always worried about it with my two kids. They wear long sleeves and bug repellent, and we keep our doors closed.”

Even though she takes steps to protect herself and her family, Englehart is still worried.

“You can be as preventative as possible, but it’s a really hard thing to control,” she said. “Something needs to be done environmentally.”

Englehart spoke with Bedford officials about testing and trapping, but said she is not satisfied with anti-mosquito measures.

“To me, testing an area where the kids are inside all day, and they’re not around at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “The town should be testing at the athletic fields. In my nephew’s community, they didn’t allow kids on the playing fields after 6 p.m.”

Hickey said the state chose the two testing sites.

“I’m not exactly sure why they chose those sites,” he said. “I would say it’s because there are kids out and about in the area, whether at recess or whether they go to those two locations at night.”

Englehart said the threat EEE poses to humans can’t be understated.

“The statistics I’ve heard are that one out of two infected people die and, if you live, there’s a big chance of brain damage and damage to internal organs,” she said. “I think the majority of people in Bedford would welcome additional testing. I probably won’t change anyone’s mind, but I want everyone to know how devastating this really is.”

John Stephen, state Department of Health and Human Services commissioner, said there were seven human cases of EEE in New Hampshire last year, two of which were fatal.

Recently, the state reported several mosquito pools in Rockingham County have tested positive for EEE. Nashua and Merrimack have also produced positive tests for the West Nile virus.

“These next few weeks are a concern for us,” said Stephen. “By the end of September, the mosquito population tends to drop quickly and reduces the threat of EEE and West Nile virus. However, this is still a very active season and we are seeing a considerable amount of mosquito activity. The public should be very cautious about avoiding mosquito bites.”

Hickey said Bedford currently has no plans to spray pesticides, and urged people to wear long sleeves and insect repellent in areas with mosquitoes.

“At this time, it doesn’t seem prudent to do any spraying,” he said. “The state will continue to test. If anything comes back, we’ll be prepared to change our course.”

Personal protection continues to be the best way to prevent EEE and West Nile, Stephen said. For more information, call the Department of Health and Human Services at (866) 273-6453, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Fact sheets and recent test results are available at www.dhhs.nh.gov.