West Nile Virus Survivor Stories from West Nile Virus Survivors News
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West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease Incidence by State – United States, 2019 (as of August 20, 2019)
This map shows the incidence of human West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease (e.g., meningitis, encephalitis, or acute flaccid paralysis) by state for 2019 with shading ranging from 0.01‐0.24, 0.25‐0.49, 0.50‐0.99, and greater than 1.00 per 100,000 population.
Neuroinvasive disease cases have been reported to ArboNET from the following states for 2019: Arizona, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
After a rise in the number of West Nile virus cases in 2018, the Duval County Public Health Department said it is now working with the Jacksonville's mosquito control staff to cut down on those numbers this year.
Leo Davis, who lives in Jacksonville, said the higher numbers last year are concerning.
“Yeah, especially I just try to go through the preventative measures and make sure I have no standing water sitting around my house because I stay right by a water source,” he said.
On Wednesday morning, the City Council met and asked Duval County Health Department officials what can be done to protect the public after learning the county now leads the state in West Nile virus cases for 2018. One way health officials are hoping to do that is through education.
“We put it on social media; we put information sheets for how residents can protect themselves,” said Alison Hewitt, director of communication for the county Department of Health.
The county Health Department is also working with the city’s mosquito control personel as they monitor cases, continue surveillance and treat storm drains around the area.
As for why the sudden increase in numbers, the Health Department says there’s no one factor to blame. “it’s about every five years we see an increase here. We see an increase in Duval County. There’s been no scientific reason as to why,” said Hewitt.
The county Health Department and city’s mosquito control staff are coming up with a map that they use to pinpoint areas the county that need more attention.
After finding about how many cases Duval County had last year Davis says he’ll take better steps to protect himself.
“I’m going to get a lot of Off! (mosquito repellent), make sure I have a lot of mosquito nettings, and if I don’t have to go outside, I’m not going outside,” said Davis.
Eight human cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed in Michigan in 2018.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the cases in one resident of Berrien County, one resident of Kent County, one resident of Oakland County and five residents of Wayne County, including one death. All but one have been hospitalized with neurologic disease.
In addition to the eight human cases, three Michigan blood donors had West Nile virus (WNV) detected in their blood.
According to MDHHS, 2018 WNV activity appears to be statewide. To date, 66 birds have tested positive for WNV from 21 of Michigan’s 83 counties. In addition, 74 WNV positive mosquito pools have been detected in eight Michigan counties.
Michael Rodriguez sat in a Fresno rehabilitation hospital four years ago struggling to make the simplest of movements. Tears filled his eyes as he focused on trying to tap his feet beside patients who had suffered strokes and injuries from car accidents.
His devastating debilitation had come from something much different – a mosquito infected with West Nile virus.
The rare virus had taken the Clovis man from a peak of health and professional success to a fight for his life in August of 2014. Rodriguez only recalls flashes of a nearly month-long hospitalization at Stanford Medical Center and Clovis Community Medical Center.
Less than 1 percent of people bitten by a mosquito carrying West Nile develop severe symptoms. Rodriguez was among them. The virus had gotten into his spine and brain, leaving him nearly paralyzed and cognitively impaired.
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“Everyone was pretty nervous,” Rodriguez said. “They were all saying goodbye.”
Rodriguez’s symptoms seemed mild at first – spots lasting a couple days that looked like a rash, and flu-like symptoms – then his body took a turn for the worst. The day after participating in a work training, Rodriguez was hospitalized after finding himself unable to go to the bathroom. It took about a week for doctors to determine he was infected with West Nile.
Rodriguez would survive, then spend more than six months doing intensive rehabilitation and physical therapy. He started in a wheelchair, then a walker, then a cane, as he regained his strength and learned to walk again.
Rodriguez eventually started trying to work out at home.
“I couldn’t do one pushup on my knees … One!” he said. “It was sooo heartbreaking for me. But every day, every day, I would try.”
Michael Rodriguez, 55, who nearly died from West Nile virus in 2014, has channeled his experience into helping others at his Fit Body Boot Camp in Fresno. A former body building competitor, he formerly worked providing technical support for surgeons.
JOHN WALKER jwalker@fresnobee.com
Darrylynn Silva recalls many of those attempts, watching her friend “just trying to lift his leg, just trying to lift a foot.”
It was especially hard for Rodriguez, a former bodybuilder, since exercise had always been incredibly important in his life.
Michael Rodriguez is seen in a body building competition in this 1996 photo.
JOHN WALKER jwalker@fresnobee.com
What happened to his mind was also heartbreaking. The West Nile caused encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain; meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord; and transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord.
Rodriguez previously worked as a medical device equipment consultant, assisting surgeons in operating rooms throughout the central San Joaquin Valley. If the equipment they used during surgeries wasn’t working properly, it was his job to fix it quickly. Returning to work after recovering from his hospitalization, Rodriguez learned he wasn’t quick enough for the operating room anymore.
“That’s hard when someone says, ‘You’re not going to be able to do this anymore,’ and you spent the last 20 years doing that and trying to be the best you could at it. … I can’t even tell you what that feels like,” Rodriguez said. “And then what?”
The answer came while training a young athlete named Kennedy. Rodriguez agreed to train the girl at the urging of her mother, his friend Silva. Rodriguez was nervous at first about being a physical trainer again – what he did for some before his West Nile diagnosis – but as Kennedy excelled and grew stronger, his fears subsided.
Silva told him his workouts were similar to those at a Fit Body Boot Camp in Fresno. She encouraged him to open his own franchise. Rodriguez did this summer, one of several in the city. The 55-year-old describes his boot camp, located at Milburn and Herndon avenues in northwest Fresno, as “one-on-one fitness in a group setting.”
Michael Rodriguez, who nearly died from West Nile virus in 2014, has channeled his experience into helping others at his Fit Body Boot Camp in Fresno.
JOHN WALKER jwalker@fresnobee.com
It’s a remarkable achievement considering all he has endured physically and mentally over the past four years.
Of contracting West Nile, he said: “Looking back now, it was the worst thing that could happen in my career but now it’s one of the best things because I am truly able to help people and inspire them.”
Rodriguez said helping his clients, now more than 100 of them, become healthier “is the most rewarding thing, and I mean that so much.”
Doctors told him the only reason he survived West Nile is because he was so physically fit.
Michael Rodriguez, 55, who nearly died from West Nile virus in 2014, has channeled his experience into helping others at his Fit Body Boot Camp in Fresno.
JOHN WALKER jwalker@fresnobee.com
West Nile infected at least 26 people in the central San Joaquin Valley this year: eight in Kern County, seven in Tulare County, six in Fresno County, three in Madera County, and two in Merced County. Eight people died from the virus in California in 2018, based on data released Nov. 1. Half of the deaths were in the Sacramento area. The others were divided between Northern California and Southern California.
West Nile Virus can be deadly — but only one in five people who are infected by a mosquito bite will develop any symptoms, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Here's what to look for.
The virus is picked up by mosquitoes that feed on infected birds. People cannot pass on the virus through coughing, touching or kissing.
Rodriguez also helped another West Nile survivor, Tim Thiesen. The Clovis North High School teacher and former baseball coach said Rodriguez’s positive attitude was an inspiration as he went through his own rehabilitation following his diagnosis.
One of the long-term effects for Rodriguez is post-traumatic stress disorder. Small, unexpected things can startle him: a tap on the shoulder, the sound of grinding pepper, or someone suddenly appearing around a corner.
“It’s crazy,” Rodriguez said of PTSD. “I wish I could explain it, how it makes you feel, and it’s not all the time.”
Through all of it, he’s devoted to continuing his journey to get stronger. He helps his clients do the same. Silva, also operations and nutrition manager for his boot camp, calls him a “natural-born encourager.”
“No one leaves Michael feeling down, ever,” she said. “If you see Michael, you leave feeling happy and energized and encouraged.”
Michael Rodriguez, 55, who nearly died from West Nile virus in 2014, talks about channeling his experience into helping others at his Fit Body Boot Camp in Fresno.
Michael Rodriguez, who nearly died from West Nile virus in 2014, has channeled his experience into helping others at his Fit Body Boot Camp in Fresno.JOHN WALKERJWALKER@FRESNOBEE.COM
