Family says Ossian man died from West Nile Virus
By ROB MONTANA - STAFF WRITER
An Ossian man passed away at Highland Hospital in Rochester Tuesday from what his family believes to be complications of West Nile Virus.
Carl “Lefty” Long, 69, first became ill in August, his wife, Rose, said this morning. She said he had come into their home one night complaining of a headache. After checking his blood pressure and finding it elevated, Rose said she consulted with Carl's doctor and gave him an extra blood pressure pill. The next morning he was a completely different person.
“He was totally confused, and doing things that were not normal,” Rose Long said. “I had to physically dress him and took him to his doctor's office in Canaseraga.”
Once there, Long said the doctor told her they were sending Carl to Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville by ambulance. After a couple days at Noyes he was transferred to Highland Hospital in Rochester.
“He just deteriorated so quickly,” Long said. “He thought he was working, in his mind.
When he was transferred to Highland, he underwent two spinal taps and stomach surgery. Long said the tap showed West Nile Virus.
“It's a scary thing,” she said. “His body, I can't explain it, it just lost all its strength.
“It happened so fast,” Long added. “We tried everything to save him, but we couldn't.”
After looking into the case this morning, Joan Ellison, Livingston County Health Department director, said her office has received no confirmation of West Nile Virus from lab results it has received.
“We are looking into this matter, and we did have contact with the family,” Ellison said. “The lab results we have received have been negative for West Nile Virus.”
Ellison said there are certain tests done to determine West Nile presence through a lab in Albany. She said her office is still checking to see if all the results are in, and for anything that would indicate a test done more recently.
Long spoke with someone at the county health department at the time her husband was stricken.
“I was angry because they never told anybody about it being in the area, they don't think it's here,” she said. “They asked me if he had traveled out of the country, and I told them no, just locally.”
Carl Long's doctor, Dr. Thomas Dwyer, was out of his office this morning, but his office manager said they could not release any information as a result of HIPAA regulations that protect privacy of patients. The physician that cared for Carl at Highland Hospital also was unavailable for comment this morning.
Long spoke with Dwyer's office this morning, and they said they would not release the information until she fills out some legal documents. She said they did tell her they looked at the file and had some information from Highland that said Carl passed away from encephalitis as a result of West Nile Virus.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Matt McChesney, CO
McChesney hopes to play for Jets
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/3/05
BY JOSH THOMSON
STAFF WRITER
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — One Sunday in mid-July, Matt McChesney woke up with a brutal headache. For a football player, headaches usually aren't a big deal, but McChesney just couldn't shake loose from the pounding between his ears.
By the time McChesney decided he better head to the hospital, his body had been so sapped of its strength that his father, David, and younger brother, Zack, had to drag the 6-foot-4, 307-pounder to the car.
Upon admittance to the emergency room, doctors ran a series of tests and eventually divulged to the big, strong, affable former University of Colorado defensive tackle that he had contracted the energy-depleting West Nile Virus. Not only was driving to St. Louis Rams camp the next day out of the question, so was football. Ten days later the Rams cut McChesney loose.
A mosquito bite, his mom says with irony, almost cost her son his entire rookie season.
"Everyone was out there proving themselves for a position," Lynn McChesney said Friday by phone. "And here he was sitting at home and trying to get better."
These days, McChesney is fully healed and has been a member of the Jets practice squad since early November. Considering he just turned 24, McChesney, who was drafted by St. Louis in the seventh round, still has plenty of time to make a mark. But there were days and nights that seemed impossible.
McChesney was in and out of the hospital all summer long and taking medication to numb his headaches. It took the entire 60-day recovery period just to shake the West Nile Virus, so training for the NFL wasn't exactly happening either.
In September, both the Jets and Indianapolis Colts contacted him for a tryout. Because he had only been on his feet about five days by that point, the workout in New York went poorly. He flew to Indianapolis that night but failed his physical.
During October, McChesney flew to New York for another workout. But it took a third trip to New York to land him a spot on the practice squad.
Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/3/05
BY JOSH THOMSON
STAFF WRITER
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — One Sunday in mid-July, Matt McChesney woke up with a brutal headache. For a football player, headaches usually aren't a big deal, but McChesney just couldn't shake loose from the pounding between his ears.
By the time McChesney decided he better head to the hospital, his body had been so sapped of its strength that his father, David, and younger brother, Zack, had to drag the 6-foot-4, 307-pounder to the car.
Upon admittance to the emergency room, doctors ran a series of tests and eventually divulged to the big, strong, affable former University of Colorado defensive tackle that he had contracted the energy-depleting West Nile Virus. Not only was driving to St. Louis Rams camp the next day out of the question, so was football. Ten days later the Rams cut McChesney loose.
A mosquito bite, his mom says with irony, almost cost her son his entire rookie season.
"Everyone was out there proving themselves for a position," Lynn McChesney said Friday by phone. "And here he was sitting at home and trying to get better."
These days, McChesney is fully healed and has been a member of the Jets practice squad since early November. Considering he just turned 24, McChesney, who was drafted by St. Louis in the seventh round, still has plenty of time to make a mark. But there were days and nights that seemed impossible.
McChesney was in and out of the hospital all summer long and taking medication to numb his headaches. It took the entire 60-day recovery period just to shake the West Nile Virus, so training for the NFL wasn't exactly happening either.
In September, both the Jets and Indianapolis Colts contacted him for a tryout. Because he had only been on his feet about five days by that point, the workout in New York went poorly. He flew to Indianapolis that night but failed his physical.
During October, McChesney flew to New York for another workout. But it took a third trip to New York to land him a spot on the practice squad.
Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Lloyd Martinsen, CA
Canyon Laker recovering from West Nile Virus
By Shannon Weatherford
Reporter
Lloyd Martinsen and his wife, Ruth, love to spend their summer evenings sitting on the front porch of their Canyon Lake Drive North home, watching the colorful parade of cars, golf carts, joggers and walkers pass by. It was one of those evenings that Lloyd suspects led him to spend the next several months recovering from a potentially fatal illness.
The Martinsens had spent Sunday, August 6, at the Costa Mesa Hilton enjoying the sights and sounds of the Orange County Jazz Festival. Upon waking the following morning, Lloyd knew something was very wrong. Overnight, he had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms accompanied by a high fever, which can be serious enough for a man of 85, but adding to that was severe neck pain which developed into an excruciating headache, numbness in his legs that left him unable to walk and a feeling of general confusion. “I was really out of it and just as weak as a kitten,” Lloyd recalls.
Ruth rushed him to the emergency room at Menifee Valley Medical Center, where he had to be helped into a wheelchair by a nurse just to get from the car into the hospital. Based on his symptoms, an infectious disease specialist was called in to consult and felt that Lloyd was exhibiting signs of bacterial meningitis, an infection of the spinal fluid or the fluid surrounding the brain. Because bacterial meningitis must be treated with antibiotics in the early stages, the specialist indicated a course of strong antibiotics while awaiting the results of various tests.
A week later when the report came in, the results shocked everyone involved – Lloyd wasn’t suffering from bacterial meningitis at all; he had contracted West Nile Virus. The doctor immediately took Lloyd off the antibiotics, which by this time had caused Lloyd’s colon to swell, the result of an infection actually brought on by the antibiotics. As there is no treatment for West Nile Virus, Lloyd and Ruth had no other option but to wait out the illness, hoping that he would recover.
West Nile Virus is often difficult to diagnose because severe symptoms, such as the ones Lloyd displayed, appear in only one out of every 150 infected and can mimic those of other serious illnesses, as they did in Lloyd’s case. In nearly 80 percent of cases, sufferers don’t exhibit symptoms at all. Infection normally occurs within three to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Although the seasonal epidemic is over for the most part now that fall is becoming winter, precautions should still be taken to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing clothing that covers exposed skin and using DEET-based mosquito repellants. Those most at-risk for contracting the illness from an infected mosquito are small children, adults over 50 and those with compromised immune systems.
While still recuperating from the after-effects of the illness as well as undergoing treatment for the infection to his colon, Lloyd says that he is now West Nile Virus-free, and thinks the most likely scenario for having contracted the illness was while enjoying a summer evening right on his own front porch. “We all know that mosquitoes are in abundance in Canyon Lake,” Lloyd says, which is why both he and Ruth plan to take appropriate measures next summer for their evening respites.
Bob "Big Stef" Steffen, OH
Big Stef battles West Nile
By Shelly Whitehead
Post staff reporter
TERRY DUENNES/The Post
Bob “Big Stef” Steffen, who battles West Nile, proudly showed off his retirement cake recently.
To send messages, cards or flowers to Bob Steffen or donations to Big Stef, Inc.:
On the Web: www.bigstef.org
By mail: Big Stef, Inc., P.O. Box 1844, Newport, KY 41071
One of the biggest hearts in Northern Kentucky - a man whose Newport-based organization helps thousands of the needy and sick each Christmas - is now very sick himself after contracting the deadly West Nile virus.
Bob Steffen, the 68-year-old founder of the charitable group Big Stef, Inc., was diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus last month about two weeks after he was found unconscious in his Newport home, relatives say.
Now, the well-known philanthropist is a patient in the same Highland Heights nursing home where he launched a simple holiday gift-giving tradition 21 years ago that has blossomed into a year-round charity.
This holiday season, more than 400 needy families and thousands of nursing home residents will receive gifts and parties from Steffen's non-profit group. But, for the first time since 1984, the organization's Santa-sized namesake won't be able to participate. Steffen is simply too sick, said his niece, Megan Steffen.
"He's been down with it for 5½ weeks. They thought at first it was a stroke," said Ms. Steffen, board secretary for Big Stef, Inc.
Three weeks ago, Ms. Steffen said a Utah-based lab confirmed that her uncle had West Nile virus. But, that wasn't all. Ms. Steffen said the 68-year-old former Campbell County Sheriff's deputy was also diagnosed with meningitis and five other viruses during his lengthy stay at St. Luke Hospital East in Fort Thomas.
For much of that time, Steffen was not speaking, walking or able to eat. Family members worried he might not make it. Then, about two weeks ago, he started coming around, Ms. Steffen said.
And of course, he wanted to know how his organization's holiday efforts were progressing. He was particularly concerned about the status of the annual Southgate House benefit in memory of his deceased brother, Tommy, which took place last weekend.
"He knew it was coming up. We hung a poster for it in his room. He kept asking about it," she said.
"We made about $4,800, which is a little lower than last year's with it. I kind of wonder if that had to do with the fact that Uncle Bob wasn't there this year. He was a big draw."
Though nearly everything about Bob Steffen has always been big and generous, his niece said the virus has burned up some of the heft on her famous uncle's frame, which once weighed in at more than 400 pounds. His size never seemed to hamper his swift pace, however, in building Big Stef, Inc. into an organization capable of charitable activities that are continuing through the help of its many volunteers.
Over the next several weeks, dozens of Big Stef's unpaid do-gooders will deliver holiday parties and gifts to residents at nine Northern Kentucky nursing homes. Some will come clothed as Santa himself, a light-hearted touch Steffen inaugurated in 1984 when he first passed out candy canes and gifts to his ailing mother, Clara, and other residents at Lakeside Place Nursing Home.
This year, as one of the residents of the same facility - now known as Northern Kentucky Care and Rehabilitation Center - Steffen will be on the receiving end of his own organization's good works for the first time.
"We keep telling him he can pick his own Santa to visit," Ms. Steffen said.
"There will be three Santas there - one for each floor. ... The residents really do look forward to it ... and appreciate it."
As do the hundreds of needy families each year who receive holiday baskets filled with about $150 worth of food and cupboard staples in the week before Christmas. Supplies for that undertaking are purchased with funds raised through a half-dozen annual Big Stef, Inc. benefit events, as well as annual membership dues paid by hundreds of participants in the organization.
At Coach's Corner, one of the Newport taverns where Steffen started raising money for gifts a decade ago, everybody knows the big guy with the bacon cheeseburger named after him on the menu. And today, everybody there worries about him, too, according to co-owner Midge Brewer.
"Everyone here is thinking about him. We have people come in every day and ask about him," Brewer said.
"We wish him well and we can't wait to see him back here having a cold Miller Lite again ... and a Big Stef burger. He's a wonderful person."
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tom Steiner, WS (2)
Students Remember Wauwatosa West Principal
Mon Nov 21, 5:46 PM ET
Monday was the first day back to school for Wauwatosa West High School students after learning of the recent death of their school principal.
Tom Steiner died Friday after he was diagnosed with the West Nile virus four weeks ago.
He was the second to die from West Nile virus so in the state of Wisconsin this year.
Steiner was 56 years old and had been at Wauwatosa West for the past five years. Senior David Kruse told WISN 12 News that Steiner was well liked.
He shared a favorite memory about when Steiner came to his rescue.
"Sophomore year, I didn't have any lunch money, so I asked Mr. Steiner, 'Can I borrow some lunch money?' He hands me a $5 bill and says, 'Keep the change.' That's just just cool. I don't care who you are, that's neat. I tried to pay him back the next day and he wouldn't take the money back," Wauwatosa West student David Kruse said.
Green ribbons were handed out to students and faculty in honor and remembrance of Steiner.
Other students paid tribute to their principal publicly on a rock on the front lawn.
Visitation for Steiner will be Friday from 3 p.m..-8 p.m.at Schmidt and Bartelt in Wauwatosa.
The funeral will be on Saturday at St. Bernard's.
Mon Nov 21, 5:46 PM ET
Monday was the first day back to school for Wauwatosa West High School students after learning of the recent death of their school principal.
Tom Steiner died Friday after he was diagnosed with the West Nile virus four weeks ago.
He was the second to die from West Nile virus so in the state of Wisconsin this year.
Steiner was 56 years old and had been at Wauwatosa West for the past five years. Senior David Kruse told WISN 12 News that Steiner was well liked.
He shared a favorite memory about when Steiner came to his rescue.
"Sophomore year, I didn't have any lunch money, so I asked Mr. Steiner, 'Can I borrow some lunch money?' He hands me a $5 bill and says, 'Keep the change.' That's just just cool. I don't care who you are, that's neat. I tried to pay him back the next day and he wouldn't take the money back," Wauwatosa West student David Kruse said.
Green ribbons were handed out to students and faculty in honor and remembrance of Steiner.
Other students paid tribute to their principal publicly on a rock on the front lawn.
Visitation for Steiner will be Friday from 3 p.m..-8 p.m.at Schmidt and Bartelt in Wauwatosa.
The funeral will be on Saturday at St. Bernard's.
Marge Riley, NE
West Nile was just the start
When Marge Riley of North Platte took out the trash in July, she didn't even think about putting on a long-sleeved shirt. She paid a huge price for that decision. She has temporarily lost the use of her left leg, and she spent months in the hospital after physicians diagnosed her with West Nile virus.
When Marge Riley of North Platte took out the trash in July, she didn't even think about putting on a long-sleeved shirt. She paid a huge price for that decision. She has temporarily lost the use of her left leg, and she spent months in the hospital after physicians diagnosed her with West Nile virus.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Marge Riley, NE
11/16/2005
West Nile virus takes toll on local woman
By: Diane Finch , Telegraph Corespondent
When Marge Riley took out the trash in July, she didn't even think about putting on a long-sleeved shirt. After all, the trash barrel was just yards from her house and it would only take her a few seconds.
She paid a huge price for that decision. She has temporarily lost the use of her left leg, and she spent months in the hospital after physicians diagnosed her with West Nile virus.
"It started out just like the flu," said Riley, 75, who now lives with her daughter and son-in-law, Lyndee and John Doyle.
"There were the usual symptoms - headache, vomiting, diarrhea. My mouth was so dry. I didn't go to the doctor until I got so weak I couldn't stand up."
Doyle took her to the emergency room at Great Plains Regional Medical Center, where, after extensive testing and waiting for results, she was diagnosed with West Nile virus.
When her condition steadily grew worse, more tests indicated the virus had precipitated Guillain-Barré, an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the nerves and muscles. Riley was immediately transported by ambulance to a neurological center in Fort Collins, Colo., where tests proved positive for West Nile.
"West Nile doesn't manifest the kind of paralysis that she had. Both legs were paralyzed and she couldn't swallow," said Doyle, a Federal Express office manager, who has taken a three-month leave of absence to care for her mother. "We had to find out what was causing the secondary effects."
Although Riley doesn't remember much about her two weeks in intensive care, she does recall Magnetic Resonance Imaging sessions (MRIs), where she had to lie perfectly still for two hours.
Next came five days of blood infusion, which can cause severe allergic reactions. After 14 days in intensive care, Riley was admitted to a rehabilitation center in Fort Collins, where they taught her how to relearn little things such as feeding and dressing herself.
The daily physical therapy strengthened muscle but did not bring back the feeling in her left leg. That leg is still paralyzed from the hip down. After three months in Fort Collins, neurologists released Riley, telling her it might take up to a year for the leg to recover, or perhaps longer.
"I've always been so active," said Riley, who has lived in North Platte 44 years and is noted for her culinary talents. The home economics major who studied at Colorado Women's College at one time also gave microwave cooking lessons.
"Now I can't even get in and out of bed by myself. I use the wheelchair for everything but still I need someone to help around the clock."
Riley does physical therapy several times each week and makes it a point to get out of the house, with the help of her daughter. Last week she went with friends to a local restaurant to celebrate her 75th birthday. Each day she thanks the Lord for the help she receives from her three children and grandson, Austin Doyle.
"I try to stay positive," Riley said, smiling. "Sometimes I can even joke about it. My faith has helped me through this."
Still, it's difficult to be cheerful when insurance won't entirely cover the more than $200,000 in hospital bills.
Physicians told Riley that most people who contract Guillain-Barré make a full recovery. Riley believes she contracted the disease because of the earlier West Nile virus, which creates other problems. She urges people to protect themselves again West Nile.
"It only takes one mosquito to attack. This is nothing to take lightly. Cover yourself, spray yourself with a product containing Deet - even if you're just going out to empty the trash."
West Nile virus takes toll on local woman
By: Diane Finch , Telegraph Corespondent
When Marge Riley took out the trash in July, she didn't even think about putting on a long-sleeved shirt. After all, the trash barrel was just yards from her house and it would only take her a few seconds.
She paid a huge price for that decision. She has temporarily lost the use of her left leg, and she spent months in the hospital after physicians diagnosed her with West Nile virus.
"It started out just like the flu," said Riley, 75, who now lives with her daughter and son-in-law, Lyndee and John Doyle.
"There were the usual symptoms - headache, vomiting, diarrhea. My mouth was so dry. I didn't go to the doctor until I got so weak I couldn't stand up."
Doyle took her to the emergency room at Great Plains Regional Medical Center, where, after extensive testing and waiting for results, she was diagnosed with West Nile virus.
When her condition steadily grew worse, more tests indicated the virus had precipitated Guillain-Barré, an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the nerves and muscles. Riley was immediately transported by ambulance to a neurological center in Fort Collins, Colo., where tests proved positive for West Nile.
"West Nile doesn't manifest the kind of paralysis that she had. Both legs were paralyzed and she couldn't swallow," said Doyle, a Federal Express office manager, who has taken a three-month leave of absence to care for her mother. "We had to find out what was causing the secondary effects."
Although Riley doesn't remember much about her two weeks in intensive care, she does recall Magnetic Resonance Imaging sessions (MRIs), where she had to lie perfectly still for two hours.
Next came five days of blood infusion, which can cause severe allergic reactions. After 14 days in intensive care, Riley was admitted to a rehabilitation center in Fort Collins, where they taught her how to relearn little things such as feeding and dressing herself.
The daily physical therapy strengthened muscle but did not bring back the feeling in her left leg. That leg is still paralyzed from the hip down. After three months in Fort Collins, neurologists released Riley, telling her it might take up to a year for the leg to recover, or perhaps longer.
"I've always been so active," said Riley, who has lived in North Platte 44 years and is noted for her culinary talents. The home economics major who studied at Colorado Women's College at one time also gave microwave cooking lessons.
"Now I can't even get in and out of bed by myself. I use the wheelchair for everything but still I need someone to help around the clock."
Riley does physical therapy several times each week and makes it a point to get out of the house, with the help of her daughter. Last week she went with friends to a local restaurant to celebrate her 75th birthday. Each day she thanks the Lord for the help she receives from her three children and grandson, Austin Doyle.
"I try to stay positive," Riley said, smiling. "Sometimes I can even joke about it. My faith has helped me through this."
Still, it's difficult to be cheerful when insurance won't entirely cover the more than $200,000 in hospital bills.
Physicians told Riley that most people who contract Guillain-Barré make a full recovery. Riley believes she contracted the disease because of the earlier West Nile virus, which creates other problems. She urges people to protect themselves again West Nile.
"It only takes one mosquito to attack. This is nothing to take lightly. Cover yourself, spray yourself with a product containing Deet - even if you're just going out to empty the trash."
Latricia Ann Spencer, Victim (3rd Story)
Funeral Held For West Nile Victim
Latricia Spencer
Start Video
By First Coast News Staff
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A funeral delayed for a month was held Friday for Latricia Ann Spencer, a First Coast woman who died from the West Nile Virus.
img src="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/assetpool/images/051118192138_rogerfuneral.jpg">
Spencer's family made an appeal for help on First Coast News after being unable to raise money for a funeral.
The response was overwhelming. Money not used for the funeral will be put aside to help families in similar situations.
Delores Hughes, IN-Victim
Funeral director: Griffith woman died of West Nile
HEALTH: State, county officials haven't confirmed virus as cause of death
BY JERRY DAVICH
jdavich@nwitimes.com
219.933.3376
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 1:54 AM CST
A local grandmother of six has died from complications related to West Nile virus, according to her family. But state and local health officials say they know nothing about her virus-related death.
Delores Hughes, a spry 76-year-old Griffith widow who worked 20 hours a week and drove herself to teach Sunday school, died Nov. 1 after weeks of battling the virus, said Elizabeth Davids, of Valparaiso, one of Hughes' four children.
"Doctors say that my mother got bit by a mosquito sometime around Labor Day," she said. "We'll never know where or how, but she lived near an open ditch so maybe it had stagnant water and mosquitoes."
The Indiana State Department of Health, however, has not reported Hughes' virus-related death. Since a Hammond resident died from the virus in late September, "we have received no such notification of any other (West Nile-related) deaths," Indiana State Department of Health spokesman Andy Zirkle said.
Nick Doffin, administrator for the Lake County Health Department, said his office also has heard nothing of a new West Nile-related death. Currently, there have been 22 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus reported in Indiana, including 10 in Lake County.
The Hammond death was Indiana's first -- and officially only -- fatality from the virus, according to state health department data.
"If a person dies who has previously been diagnosed as having West Nile virus, we would be provided with death certificate information to verify that," Zirkle said.
Robert Acevez, funeral director at Calumet Park Funeral Chapel in Merrillville, confirmed that Hughes did indeed die from West Nile virus. Hughes' attending physician and her death certificate both stated this, though in medical terms, Acevez said.
"Her body was flagged as contaminated when it got here, for special care," Acevez said.
Dr. Fred Adler, of Munster, completed the cause of death on Hughes' death certificate but did not return a phone call Tuesday for comment.
Hughes' family said doctors at The Community Hospital in Munster told them that her mother contracted West Nile after several tests were performed. But the reporting process of Hughes' death from West Nile left the family wondering how many other deaths were caused by West Nile but were not reported.
"The whole process of treatment and reporting her death was terribly disappointing," said son Bob Hughes, of Portage. "Obviously, there must be other West Nile deaths in Indiana that go unreported."
Community Hospital spokeswoman Mylinda Cane said she cannot comment on West Nile cases.
"The Indiana State Department of Health has set forth specific regulations for reporting of dangerous communicable diseases," she said.
Hughes' children said their mother suffered through West Nile-related encephalitis and meningitis, as well as a 104.7-degree fever, stiff limbs and convulsions before dying of full cardiac arrest.
Hughes was admitted to the hospital Sept. 14 after becoming ill with flulike symptoms, dehydration and severe tiredness, her family said. By the next day, she was placed in the intensive care unit, where she later fell into a comalike sleep for a few weeks.
Up until her hospital admittance, Hughes enjoyed water aerobics, teaching Sunday school and working 20 hours a week cleaning offices, her family and friends said.
"She was in great health, keeping up with things that I probably couldn't do," Davids said.
Clara Browning, of Munster, said Hughes missed one of her weekly meetings for TOPS, Taking Off Pounds Sensibly, and her group became worried. Browning described Hughes as a kind, generous person who, even at 76, was full of life and vibrancy.
"To think that a tiny mosquito killed such a wonderful human being," she said.
HEALTH: State, county officials haven't confirmed virus as cause of death
BY JERRY DAVICH
jdavich@nwitimes.com
219.933.3376
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 1:54 AM CST
A local grandmother of six has died from complications related to West Nile virus, according to her family. But state and local health officials say they know nothing about her virus-related death.
Delores Hughes, a spry 76-year-old Griffith widow who worked 20 hours a week and drove herself to teach Sunday school, died Nov. 1 after weeks of battling the virus, said Elizabeth Davids, of Valparaiso, one of Hughes' four children.
"Doctors say that my mother got bit by a mosquito sometime around Labor Day," she said. "We'll never know where or how, but she lived near an open ditch so maybe it had stagnant water and mosquitoes."
The Indiana State Department of Health, however, has not reported Hughes' virus-related death. Since a Hammond resident died from the virus in late September, "we have received no such notification of any other (West Nile-related) deaths," Indiana State Department of Health spokesman Andy Zirkle said.
Nick Doffin, administrator for the Lake County Health Department, said his office also has heard nothing of a new West Nile-related death. Currently, there have been 22 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus reported in Indiana, including 10 in Lake County.
The Hammond death was Indiana's first -- and officially only -- fatality from the virus, according to state health department data.
"If a person dies who has previously been diagnosed as having West Nile virus, we would be provided with death certificate information to verify that," Zirkle said.
Robert Acevez, funeral director at Calumet Park Funeral Chapel in Merrillville, confirmed that Hughes did indeed die from West Nile virus. Hughes' attending physician and her death certificate both stated this, though in medical terms, Acevez said.
"Her body was flagged as contaminated when it got here, for special care," Acevez said.
Dr. Fred Adler, of Munster, completed the cause of death on Hughes' death certificate but did not return a phone call Tuesday for comment.
Hughes' family said doctors at The Community Hospital in Munster told them that her mother contracted West Nile after several tests were performed. But the reporting process of Hughes' death from West Nile left the family wondering how many other deaths were caused by West Nile but were not reported.
"The whole process of treatment and reporting her death was terribly disappointing," said son Bob Hughes, of Portage. "Obviously, there must be other West Nile deaths in Indiana that go unreported."
Community Hospital spokeswoman Mylinda Cane said she cannot comment on West Nile cases.
"The Indiana State Department of Health has set forth specific regulations for reporting of dangerous communicable diseases," she said.
Hughes' children said their mother suffered through West Nile-related encephalitis and meningitis, as well as a 104.7-degree fever, stiff limbs and convulsions before dying of full cardiac arrest.
Hughes was admitted to the hospital Sept. 14 after becoming ill with flulike symptoms, dehydration and severe tiredness, her family said. By the next day, she was placed in the intensive care unit, where she later fell into a comalike sleep for a few weeks.
Up until her hospital admittance, Hughes enjoyed water aerobics, teaching Sunday school and working 20 hours a week cleaning offices, her family and friends said.
"She was in great health, keeping up with things that I probably couldn't do," Davids said.
Clara Browning, of Munster, said Hughes missed one of her weekly meetings for TOPS, Taking Off Pounds Sensibly, and her group became worried. Browning described Hughes as a kind, generous person who, even at 76, was full of life and vibrancy.
"To think that a tiny mosquito killed such a wonderful human being," she said.
Tom Steiner, WS
Tosa man battling West Nile dies
Steiner was principal of Wauwatosa West High School
By KAWANZA NEWSON
knewson@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 18, 2005
The principal of Wauwatosa West High School, who was diagnosed with West Nile virus, died Friday - the first such death in Milwaukee County since the disease was first detected in the state in the summer of 2001.
61763Steiner
Wauwatosa West High School principal Tom Steiner died Friday
VIDEO Coverage
Video: TMJ4 newscast (10 p.m.)
Tom Steiner, 55, was hospitalized about three weeks ago at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he remained in critical condition until his death.
Steiner's family and physicians released little information.
"It's such a shock right now," said Lois Weber, president of the Wauwatosa School Board. "People will need to just digest that it's real, because we kept thinking he would get well."
Weber said she learned of the death about 4 p.m., a time when the majority of students had left the school for home. School officials announced Steiner's death at a basketball game Friday night.
Weber said Steiner, of Wauwatosa, is survived by his wife, Cathryn, a son and a daughter, and will be missed by many others as well.
"He was really a good listener (and) he was really well-respected, by not only his students but his staff and the parents," she said. "This is a sad loss for the school and the community."
West Nile is primarily a bird disease that spreads to humans when a mosquito bites an infected bird, becomes infected itself and then bites people.
Most people get no symptoms or only mild, flu-like symptoms from West Nile. But a small percentage develop encephalitis or meningitis - inflammation around the brain or of the spinal cord - and about 10% of those people die.
As with most infectious diseases, the elderly and people with health problems are more likely to die from West Nile than younger or otherwise healthy people.
Wauwatosa schools Superintendent Phil Ertl confirmed the diagnosis of West Nile to a reporter late Monday.
Detected in state in 2001
The West Nile virus first appeared in the United States in 1999 and was first detected in Wisconsin in dead birds in late summer of 2001.
As of Tuesday, 2,676 human cases - 16 in Wisconsin - and 91 deaths from West Nile virus had been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta this year. Most cases have been in California.
Wisconsin reported 16 cases and one death to the agency this year.
Last year, there were 2,470 human cases and 88 deaths in the U.S.
Raquel Filmanowicz, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee Health Department, said that Milwaukee County has confirmed eight West Nile cases this year, with four of those occurring in the city. The county reported no cases in 2004 and 2003.
Paul Biedrzycki, the Milwaukee Health Department's manager of disease control and prevention, said that 16 mosquito traps tested positive for West Nile this year, compared with only two last year.
Spring weather
The increase was likely the result of this year's very dry spring, he said.
The department has about 20 mosquito traps throughout the city that are tested each week for the virus, he said.
Biedrzycki is not surprised by the rise in human cases.
"Any time you have lots of infected mosquitoes, you're bound to see increases in human cases," he said.
From the Nov. 19, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Have an opinion on this story? Write a letter to the editor or start an online forum.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
John C. Wood, MD
CITY'S FIRST VICTIM OF WEST NILE DIES:
VIRUS SEEN AS ROOT CAUSE OF DEATH OF WEST-SIDE MAN STRIKEN 9 MONTHS AGO
By Jonathan Bor and Frank D. Roylance, Sun Staff
Days after John C. Wood was taken to Sinai Hospital in a coma last
August and declared the city's first victim of West Nile virus, his
family assumed that he would also be a survivor.
Wood, a retired steel worker and amateur handyman who loved to sit on
his porch near Druid Hill Park and chat with neighbors, regained
consciousness and was discharged to a nursing home, where he charmed
the staff with his winning smile.
But Wood was never well enough to come home. The virus left him
brain-damaged, unable to speak in full sentences or swallow properly.
Much of the time, his breathing was so labored that he was hooked to
a mechanical ventilator.
Last Saturday, just two days after his sister visited him at the
Levindale nursing home and left reassured that he was looking well,
Wood developed a lung infection and died. He was 73.
Though the immediate cause of death was pneumonia, doctors are
confident that the root cause was West Nile virus, which had made him
prone to inhaling fluids into his lungs.
"It came as a shock to me," said his sister, Jean Williams of Jessup.
"He seemed to be more alert."
Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the city's health commissioner, said
yesterday that Wood's death does not cause him to reassess what he
said last summer when the mosquito-borne illness sickened two city
residents and four other people in Maryland.
The illness, he said, is rare and most often strikes elderly people
with underlying conditions that hinder their ability to fight off
infection.
Wood had been stricken with cancer. And though he was in good health
when he was bitten by a mosquito in August, the cancer had impaired
his immune system and left him vulnerable.
"Clearly, we feel for the family," said Beilenson. "But this case
points out what we've been saying: Human consequences of West Nile
virus are uncommon."
The first U.S. cases occurred in 1999, when 62 people within a
75-mile radius of New York City were hospitalized with infections of
the central nervous system. Seven of the victims died.
Though a dead crow that carried the virus was identified in Maryland
that year, the first human cases here were not diagnosed until last
year. Of the six people who became ill, three -- including Wood --
eventually died.
A 70-year-old woman from the city's Jonestown neighborhood who died
in September succumbed to an underlying illness, but Beilenson said
yesterday that West Nile was clearly a contributing factor. The death
of a 63-year-old woman from East Point was attributed to causes
unrelated to West Nile.
Cy Lesser, chief of the state's Mosquito Control Section, said
yesterday that it is "quite likely" that Maryland will see more human
cases of West Nile this year.
But the season is off to a slow start. No infected birds, mosquitoes
or horses have turned up this spring, despite their discovery in 10
other Eastern states, including Virginia, and in the District of
Columbia.
Though there has been enough rain this spring to fill the mosquitoes'
breeding pools, Lesser said that recent cool weather has probably
slowed replication of the virus inside the mosquitoes and temporarily
reduced their ability to infect birds.
Though they can't be sure, Wood's family says he could have been
bitten while sitting on his porch on Gwynns Falls Parkway.
"He was a darn nice guy," said his brother, Leroy Wood of Baltimore.
"He loved to talk to everybody who went by."
Neighbors became concerned in August when they noticed that he hadn't
shown up on his porch for about three days. When a nephew dropped by
to see if anything was wrong, he found Wood lying unconscious on his
apartment floor.
Dr. Debra Wertheimer, his doctor at the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric
Center & Hospital, said it was difficult for the staff to get to know
Wood because the brain infection had left him unable to speak in more
than simple phrases.
Wood's funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the James A.
Morton & Sons Funeral Home, 1701 Laurens St.
Copyright (c) 2002, The Baltimore Sun
VIRUS SEEN AS ROOT CAUSE OF DEATH OF WEST-SIDE MAN STRIKEN 9 MONTHS AGO
By Jonathan Bor and Frank D. Roylance, Sun Staff
Days after John C. Wood was taken to Sinai Hospital in a coma last
August and declared the city's first victim of West Nile virus, his
family assumed that he would also be a survivor.
Wood, a retired steel worker and amateur handyman who loved to sit on
his porch near Druid Hill Park and chat with neighbors, regained
consciousness and was discharged to a nursing home, where he charmed
the staff with his winning smile.
But Wood was never well enough to come home. The virus left him
brain-damaged, unable to speak in full sentences or swallow properly.
Much of the time, his breathing was so labored that he was hooked to
a mechanical ventilator.
Last Saturday, just two days after his sister visited him at the
Levindale nursing home and left reassured that he was looking well,
Wood developed a lung infection and died. He was 73.
Though the immediate cause of death was pneumonia, doctors are
confident that the root cause was West Nile virus, which had made him
prone to inhaling fluids into his lungs.
"It came as a shock to me," said his sister, Jean Williams of Jessup.
"He seemed to be more alert."
Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the city's health commissioner, said
yesterday that Wood's death does not cause him to reassess what he
said last summer when the mosquito-borne illness sickened two city
residents and four other people in Maryland.
The illness, he said, is rare and most often strikes elderly people
with underlying conditions that hinder their ability to fight off
infection.
Wood had been stricken with cancer. And though he was in good health
when he was bitten by a mosquito in August, the cancer had impaired
his immune system and left him vulnerable.
"Clearly, we feel for the family," said Beilenson. "But this case
points out what we've been saying: Human consequences of West Nile
virus are uncommon."
The first U.S. cases occurred in 1999, when 62 people within a
75-mile radius of New York City were hospitalized with infections of
the central nervous system. Seven of the victims died.
Though a dead crow that carried the virus was identified in Maryland
that year, the first human cases here were not diagnosed until last
year. Of the six people who became ill, three -- including Wood --
eventually died.
A 70-year-old woman from the city's Jonestown neighborhood who died
in September succumbed to an underlying illness, but Beilenson said
yesterday that West Nile was clearly a contributing factor. The death
of a 63-year-old woman from East Point was attributed to causes
unrelated to West Nile.
Cy Lesser, chief of the state's Mosquito Control Section, said
yesterday that it is "quite likely" that Maryland will see more human
cases of West Nile this year.
But the season is off to a slow start. No infected birds, mosquitoes
or horses have turned up this spring, despite their discovery in 10
other Eastern states, including Virginia, and in the District of
Columbia.
Though there has been enough rain this spring to fill the mosquitoes'
breeding pools, Lesser said that recent cool weather has probably
slowed replication of the virus inside the mosquitoes and temporarily
reduced their ability to infect birds.
Though they can't be sure, Wood's family says he could have been
bitten while sitting on his porch on Gwynns Falls Parkway.
"He was a darn nice guy," said his brother, Leroy Wood of Baltimore.
"He loved to talk to everybody who went by."
Neighbors became concerned in August when they noticed that he hadn't
shown up on his porch for about three days. When a nephew dropped by
to see if anything was wrong, he found Wood lying unconscious on his
apartment floor.
Dr. Debra Wertheimer, his doctor at the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric
Center & Hospital, said it was difficult for the staff to get to know
Wood because the brain infection had left him unable to speak in more
than simple phrases.
Wood's funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the James A.
Morton & Sons Funeral Home, 1701 Laurens St.
Copyright (c) 2002, The Baltimore Sun
Reyna Rodriguez, CA
Girl Who Contracted West Nile Virus Remains Hospitalized
Girl Cannot Walk Or Talk
POSTED: 6:07 pm PST November 11, 2005
UPDATED: 6:22 pm PST November 11, 2005
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- A 13-year-old girl who fell into a coma from West Nile virus remains hospitalized, unable to walk or talk, but her mother is hopeful she will get better.
Reyna Rodriguez was bitten by a mosquito in late August, but did not know she had the disease. Two weeks later, the Wilmington resident was admitted to a hospital with a high fever and rash.
Rodriguez became comatose as a result of a brain infection caused by the virus. She is now awake, but requires 24-hour care.
Maria Gonzalez, Rodriguez's mother, said her daughter communicates through slight movement of her fingers.
Health officials said most people do not get nearly as sick from West Nile virus, which is carried by mosquitoes that infect humans through their bite. There have been 41 reported human cases of West Nile virus in Los Angeles County this year and no deaths, although statewide, at least two people have died from the disease.
About 20 percent of infected people develop a mild illness, while 80 percent have no symptoms and recover on their own, county health officials said. Symptoms generally last three to six days and may include headache, rash, vomiting, nausea or eye pain.
Victims might develop paralysis, headaches, convulsions or fall into a coma.
Girl Cannot Walk Or Talk
POSTED: 6:07 pm PST November 11, 2005
UPDATED: 6:22 pm PST November 11, 2005
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- A 13-year-old girl who fell into a coma from West Nile virus remains hospitalized, unable to walk or talk, but her mother is hopeful she will get better.
Reyna Rodriguez was bitten by a mosquito in late August, but did not know she had the disease. Two weeks later, the Wilmington resident was admitted to a hospital with a high fever and rash.
Rodriguez became comatose as a result of a brain infection caused by the virus. She is now awake, but requires 24-hour care.
Maria Gonzalez, Rodriguez's mother, said her daughter communicates through slight movement of her fingers.
Health officials said most people do not get nearly as sick from West Nile virus, which is carried by mosquitoes that infect humans through their bite. There have been 41 reported human cases of West Nile virus in Los Angeles County this year and no deaths, although statewide, at least two people have died from the disease.
About 20 percent of infected people develop a mild illness, while 80 percent have no symptoms and recover on their own, county health officials said. Symptoms generally last three to six days and may include headache, rash, vomiting, nausea or eye pain.
Victims might develop paralysis, headaches, convulsions or fall into a coma.
Sarah Salmon, MS
West Nile strikes Sanguinetti after hurricane
By DAVID PHELPS
The nAtchez Democrat
Natchez — Natchez resident Frances Trosclair remembers her brother James Sanguinetti’s activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina well.
Temporarily forced away from his house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Sanguinetti was one of the lucky ones.
His house had only moderate damage. So he went to work helping neighbors get cleaned up.
That’s until flu-like symptoms set in. Originally diagnosed as a virus, Sanguinetti, 73, wasn’t admitted to the hospital until several days after his first doctor visit.
When Trosclair first visited her brother, on the Sept. 19, he was having trouble speaking. She remembers her sister-in-law asking if he knew who his sister was. He pointed to Trosclair and said, “Flossie,” a name she’d not heard before.
He was moved into intensive care shortly thereafter with a suspected stroke.
The Times-Picayune reported on Oct. 19 that Sanguinetti was one of two reported cases of West Nile virus in the wake of the hurricane.
After three weeks, two strokes and a tracheotomy, Sanguinetti has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Covington. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body and beginning the recovery process.
While Sanguinetti shows symptoms of a stroke — which could have been brought on by the virus’ weakening his immune system — Natchez resident Sarah Salmon had completely different symptoms from her bout with the virus.
Salmon, 65, was infected in Natchez in September 2002. Though she got over her 102-degree fever and was back at work within a week, symptoms including a swollen left foot and tingling of her nerve ends on her left side sent her to the doctor.
“It affected my blood pressure, sent it sky high,” she said. “It took a year to get it back down.”
She still has periods where the nerves on the left side of her head tingle, but she considers herself lucky nonetheless.
She credited a support group for helping her deal with an illness nobody really understands.
“People who have had it talk to each other about their symptoms, it makes you feel better,” she said.
“You could talk to other people (outside of the group), but they had no idea what you were talking about.”
Salmon said she wanted to help spread the word about the virus in hopes that education will lead to prevention.
The Sanguinettis said they are doing a good job of letting family and friends know what James is going through.
E-mail updates written by his son, Jay, and Jay’s wife, Lucy, keep loved ones posted on the steady, if slow, progress.
The younger Sanguinettis, of Hattiesburg, and Trosclair are among the family members who travel regularly to Covington to visit James and Claudette.
They’ll make a special trip this weekend to wish Sanguinetti a happy birthday. Jay Sanguinetti has gathered nearly 100 cards — including a “who the heck is Flossie?” card from Trosclair — e-mails and letters which he is having bound to give his father as a present.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” his wife Claudette Sanguinetti said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”
By DAVID PHELPS
The nAtchez Democrat
Natchez — Natchez resident Frances Trosclair remembers her brother James Sanguinetti’s activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina well.
Temporarily forced away from his house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Sanguinetti was one of the lucky ones.
His house had only moderate damage. So he went to work helping neighbors get cleaned up.
That’s until flu-like symptoms set in. Originally diagnosed as a virus, Sanguinetti, 73, wasn’t admitted to the hospital until several days after his first doctor visit.
When Trosclair first visited her brother, on the Sept. 19, he was having trouble speaking. She remembers her sister-in-law asking if he knew who his sister was. He pointed to Trosclair and said, “Flossie,” a name she’d not heard before.
He was moved into intensive care shortly thereafter with a suspected stroke.
The Times-Picayune reported on Oct. 19 that Sanguinetti was one of two reported cases of West Nile virus in the wake of the hurricane.
After three weeks, two strokes and a tracheotomy, Sanguinetti has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Covington. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body and beginning the recovery process.
While Sanguinetti shows symptoms of a stroke — which could have been brought on by the virus’ weakening his immune system — Natchez resident Sarah Salmon had completely different symptoms from her bout with the virus.
Salmon, 65, was infected in Natchez in September 2002. Though she got over her 102-degree fever and was back at work within a week, symptoms including a swollen left foot and tingling of her nerve ends on her left side sent her to the doctor.
“It affected my blood pressure, sent it sky high,” she said. “It took a year to get it back down.”
She still has periods where the nerves on the left side of her head tingle, but she considers herself lucky nonetheless.
She credited a support group for helping her deal with an illness nobody really understands.
“People who have had it talk to each other about their symptoms, it makes you feel better,” she said.
“You could talk to other people (outside of the group), but they had no idea what you were talking about.”
Salmon said she wanted to help spread the word about the virus in hopes that education will lead to prevention.
The Sanguinettis said they are doing a good job of letting family and friends know what James is going through.
E-mail updates written by his son, Jay, and Jay’s wife, Lucy, keep loved ones posted on the steady, if slow, progress.
The younger Sanguinettis, of Hattiesburg, and Trosclair are among the family members who travel regularly to Covington to visit James and Claudette.
They’ll make a special trip this weekend to wish Sanguinetti a happy birthday. Jay Sanguinetti has gathered nearly 100 cards — including a “who the heck is Flossie?” card from Trosclair — e-mails and letters which he is having bound to give his father as a present.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” his wife Claudette Sanguinetti said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”
Sarah Salmon, MS
West Nile strikes Sanguinetti after hurricane
By DAVID PHELPS
The nAtchez Democrat
Natchez — Natchez resident Frances Trosclair remembers her brother James Sanguinetti’s activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina well.
Temporarily forced away from his house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Sanguinetti was one of the lucky ones.
His house had only moderate damage. So he went to work helping neighbors get cleaned up.
That’s until flu-like symptoms set in. Originally diagnosed as a virus, Sanguinetti, 73, wasn’t admitted to the hospital until several days after his first doctor visit.
When Trosclair first visited her brother, on the Sept. 19, he was having trouble speaking. She remembers her sister-in-law asking if he knew who his sister was. He pointed to Trosclair and said, “Flossie,” a name she’d not heard before.
He was moved into intensive care shortly thereafter with a suspected stroke.
The Times-Picayune reported on Oct. 19 that Sanguinetti was one of two reported cases of West Nile virus in the wake of the hurricane.
After three weeks, two strokes and a tracheotomy, Sanguinetti has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Covington. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body and beginning the recovery process.
While Sanguinetti shows symptoms of a stroke — which could have been brought on by the virus’ weakening his immune system — Natchez resident Sarah Salmon had completely different symptoms from her bout with the virus.
Salmon, 65, was infected in Natchez in September 2002. Though she got over her 102-degree fever and was back at work within a week, symptoms including a swollen left foot and tingling of her nerve ends on her left side sent her to the doctor.
“It affected my blood pressure, sent it sky high,” she said. “It took a year to get it back down.”
She still has periods where the nerves on the left side of her head tingle, but she considers herself lucky nonetheless.
She credited a support group for helping her deal with an illness nobody really understands.
“People who have had it talk to each other about their symptoms, it makes you feel better,” she said.
“You could talk to other people (outside of the group), but they had no idea what you were talking about.”
Salmon said she wanted to help spread the word about the virus in hopes that education will lead to prevention.
The Sanguinettis said they are doing a good job of letting family and friends know what James is going through.
E-mail updates written by his son, Jay, and Jay’s wife, Lucy, keep loved ones posted on the steady, if slow, progress.
The younger Sanguinettis, of Hattiesburg, and Trosclair are among the family members who travel regularly to Covington to visit James and Claudette.
They’ll make a special trip this weekend to wish Sanguinetti a happy birthday. Jay Sanguinetti has gathered nearly 100 cards — including a “who the heck is Flossie?” card from Trosclair — e-mails and letters which he is having bound to give his father as a present.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” his wife Claudette Sanguinetti said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”
By DAVID PHELPS
The nAtchez Democrat
Natchez — Natchez resident Frances Trosclair remembers her brother James Sanguinetti’s activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina well.
Temporarily forced away from his house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Sanguinetti was one of the lucky ones.
His house had only moderate damage. So he went to work helping neighbors get cleaned up.
That’s until flu-like symptoms set in. Originally diagnosed as a virus, Sanguinetti, 73, wasn’t admitted to the hospital until several days after his first doctor visit.
When Trosclair first visited her brother, on the Sept. 19, he was having trouble speaking. She remembers her sister-in-law asking if he knew who his sister was. He pointed to Trosclair and said, “Flossie,” a name she’d not heard before.
He was moved into intensive care shortly thereafter with a suspected stroke.
The Times-Picayune reported on Oct. 19 that Sanguinetti was one of two reported cases of West Nile virus in the wake of the hurricane.
After three weeks, two strokes and a tracheotomy, Sanguinetti has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Covington. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body and beginning the recovery process.
While Sanguinetti shows symptoms of a stroke — which could have been brought on by the virus’ weakening his immune system — Natchez resident Sarah Salmon had completely different symptoms from her bout with the virus.
Salmon, 65, was infected in Natchez in September 2002. Though she got over her 102-degree fever and was back at work within a week, symptoms including a swollen left foot and tingling of her nerve ends on her left side sent her to the doctor.
“It affected my blood pressure, sent it sky high,” she said. “It took a year to get it back down.”
She still has periods where the nerves on the left side of her head tingle, but she considers herself lucky nonetheless.
She credited a support group for helping her deal with an illness nobody really understands.
“People who have had it talk to each other about their symptoms, it makes you feel better,” she said.
“You could talk to other people (outside of the group), but they had no idea what you were talking about.”
Salmon said she wanted to help spread the word about the virus in hopes that education will lead to prevention.
The Sanguinettis said they are doing a good job of letting family and friends know what James is going through.
E-mail updates written by his son, Jay, and Jay’s wife, Lucy, keep loved ones posted on the steady, if slow, progress.
The younger Sanguinettis, of Hattiesburg, and Trosclair are among the family members who travel regularly to Covington to visit James and Claudette.
They’ll make a special trip this weekend to wish Sanguinetti a happy birthday. Jay Sanguinetti has gathered nearly 100 cards — including a “who the heck is Flossie?” card from Trosclair — e-mails and letters which he is having bound to give his father as a present.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” his wife Claudette Sanguinetti said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”
James Sanguinetti, MS
West Nile strikes Sanguinetti after hurricane
By DAVID PHELPS
The nAtchez Democrat
Natchez — Natchez resident Frances Trosclair remembers her brother James Sanguinetti’s activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina well.
Temporarily forced away from his house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Sanguinetti was one of the lucky ones.
His house had only moderate damage. So he went to work helping neighbors get cleaned up.
That’s until flu-like symptoms set in. Originally diagnosed as a virus, Sanguinetti, 73, wasn’t admitted to the hospital until several days after his first doctor visit.
When Trosclair first visited her brother, on the Sept. 19, he was having trouble speaking. She remembers her sister-in-law asking if he knew who his sister was. He pointed to Trosclair and said, “Flossie,” a name she’d not heard before.
He was moved into intensive care shortly thereafter with a suspected stroke.
The Times-Picayune reported on Oct. 19 that Sanguinetti was one of two reported cases of West Nile virus in the wake of the hurricane.
After three weeks, two strokes and a tracheotomy, Sanguinetti has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Covington. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body and beginning the recovery process.
While Sanguinetti shows symptoms of a stroke — which could have been brought on by the virus’ weakening his immune system — Natchez resident Sarah Salmon had completely different symptoms from her bout with the virus.
Salmon, 65, was infected in Natchez in September 2002. Though she got over her 102-degree fever and was back at work within a week, symptoms including a swollen left foot and tingling of her nerve ends on her left side sent her to the doctor.
“It affected my blood pressure, sent it sky high,” she said. “It took a year to get it back down.”
She still has periods where the nerves on the left side of her head tingle, but she considers herself lucky nonetheless.
She credited a support group for helping her deal with an illness nobody really understands.
“People who have had it talk to each other about their symptoms, it makes you feel better,” she said.
“You could talk to other people (outside of the group), but they had no idea what you were talking about.”
Salmon said she wanted to help spread the word about the virus in hopes that education will lead to prevention.
The Sanguinettis said they are doing a good job of letting family and friends know what James is going through.
E-mail updates written by his son, Jay, and Jay’s wife, Lucy, keep loved ones posted on the steady, if slow, progress.
The younger Sanguinettis, of Hattiesburg, and Trosclair are among the family members who travel regularly to Covington to visit James and Claudette.
They’ll make a special trip this weekend to wish Sanguinetti a happy birthday. Jay Sanguinetti has gathered nearly 100 cards — including a “who the heck is Flossie?” card from Trosclair — e-mails and letters which he is having bound to give his father as a present.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” his wife Claudette Sanguinetti said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”
By DAVID PHELPS
The nAtchez Democrat
Natchez — Natchez resident Frances Trosclair remembers her brother James Sanguinetti’s activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina well.
Temporarily forced away from his house on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Sanguinetti was one of the lucky ones.
His house had only moderate damage. So he went to work helping neighbors get cleaned up.
That’s until flu-like symptoms set in. Originally diagnosed as a virus, Sanguinetti, 73, wasn’t admitted to the hospital until several days after his first doctor visit.
When Trosclair first visited her brother, on the Sept. 19, he was having trouble speaking. She remembers her sister-in-law asking if he knew who his sister was. He pointed to Trosclair and said, “Flossie,” a name she’d not heard before.
He was moved into intensive care shortly thereafter with a suspected stroke.
The Times-Picayune reported on Oct. 19 that Sanguinetti was one of two reported cases of West Nile virus in the wake of the hurricane.
After three weeks, two strokes and a tracheotomy, Sanguinetti has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Covington. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body and beginning the recovery process.
While Sanguinetti shows symptoms of a stroke — which could have been brought on by the virus’ weakening his immune system — Natchez resident Sarah Salmon had completely different symptoms from her bout with the virus.
Salmon, 65, was infected in Natchez in September 2002. Though she got over her 102-degree fever and was back at work within a week, symptoms including a swollen left foot and tingling of her nerve ends on her left side sent her to the doctor.
“It affected my blood pressure, sent it sky high,” she said. “It took a year to get it back down.”
She still has periods where the nerves on the left side of her head tingle, but she considers herself lucky nonetheless.
She credited a support group for helping her deal with an illness nobody really understands.
“People who have had it talk to each other about their symptoms, it makes you feel better,” she said.
“You could talk to other people (outside of the group), but they had no idea what you were talking about.”
Salmon said she wanted to help spread the word about the virus in hopes that education will lead to prevention.
The Sanguinettis said they are doing a good job of letting family and friends know what James is going through.
E-mail updates written by his son, Jay, and Jay’s wife, Lucy, keep loved ones posted on the steady, if slow, progress.
The younger Sanguinettis, of Hattiesburg, and Trosclair are among the family members who travel regularly to Covington to visit James and Claudette.
They’ll make a special trip this weekend to wish Sanguinetti a happy birthday. Jay Sanguinetti has gathered nearly 100 cards — including a “who the heck is Flossie?” card from Trosclair — e-mails and letters which he is having bound to give his father as a present.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” his wife Claudette Sanguinetti said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Kristy Chapman , CA
Student diagnosed with West Nile Virus
By: Adrienne Moore
A Cal Poly student could be the first human case of the West Nile Virus in San Luis Obispo County this year.
24-year old Kristy Chapman believes she was infected with the potentially serious illness while running on the track at Cal Poly in early October. She says her body was covered in mosquito bites and she developed flu-like symptoms.
"Around seven, that's when they're out here the most, so they're out here like crazy," says Chapman.
After being misdiagnosed at the Campus Health Center and Sierra Vista Hospital, Chapman consulted her hometown doctor in Sacramento.
"They thought it was strep throat, but when I talked to the doctors in Sacramento, they said the symptoms of strep throat and the symptoms of West Nile are pretty similar-- swollen lymphnodes," says Chapman.
The health department says they're unsure why thy appropriate information was not shared by the doctor, but are hoping to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Chapman's case would be the first human one on record with the county this year. For now, she says she will continue to wear bug spray every day, and now opts for a treadmill instead of the track for her treadmill.
"We've been going to the gym because I won't go outside, now I'm deathly afraid of mosquitos, I hate them," says Chapman. "So I don't like being outside."
Kristy Chapman says she feels fine today, and is looking forward to graduating next year. In 2004, one human case of the West Nile Virus was reported in San Luis Obispo County.
By: Adrienne Moore
A Cal Poly student could be the first human case of the West Nile Virus in San Luis Obispo County this year.
24-year old Kristy Chapman believes she was infected with the potentially serious illness while running on the track at Cal Poly in early October. She says her body was covered in mosquito bites and she developed flu-like symptoms.
"Around seven, that's when they're out here the most, so they're out here like crazy," says Chapman.
After being misdiagnosed at the Campus Health Center and Sierra Vista Hospital, Chapman consulted her hometown doctor in Sacramento.
"They thought it was strep throat, but when I talked to the doctors in Sacramento, they said the symptoms of strep throat and the symptoms of West Nile are pretty similar-- swollen lymphnodes," says Chapman.
The health department says they're unsure why thy appropriate information was not shared by the doctor, but are hoping to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Chapman's case would be the first human one on record with the county this year. For now, she says she will continue to wear bug spray every day, and now opts for a treadmill instead of the track for her treadmill.
"We've been going to the gym because I won't go outside, now I'm deathly afraid of mosquitos, I hate them," says Chapman. "So I don't like being outside."
Kristy Chapman says she feels fine today, and is looking forward to graduating next year. In 2004, one human case of the West Nile Virus was reported in San Luis Obispo County.
Ted Upgren, ND
West Nile Survivor: How I Almost Died from a Little Mosquito Bite
Ted Upgren's love of fishing may have cost him his life. Months after contracting West Nile virus from a mosquito, the author still suffers from the illness. Wildlife biologists muck around in the field so often and put up with biting insects like mosquitoes so routinely we may think we're immune to everything. I think differently today.
I was rapped hard by the West Nile virus, and while owning the distinction of being the first human West Nile case diagnosed in North Dakota in 2003, I had little else to crow about as this dreaded disease took me for a ride that almost ended my life.
I was a reasonably healthy 60-year-old in July 2003, but on the morning of the 17th I awoke in my camper at Lake Sakakawea State Park in another world. Weak, feverish and overcome by flu-like symptoms, I was in no shape to join my son Michael for the final day of pre-fishing for North Dakota's Governors Cup Walleye Tournament.
I stayed behind and Mike returned to check on me around 1 p.m. I was delirious, feverish and suffering a strange, fatiguing weakness in my right arm. My wife Kaye arrived around 3 p.m. to cart me home. Doctors diagnosed a flu condition. At home throughout the next day I continued to deteriorate.
Doctors Suspected Stroke
The next morning, Kaye had had enough when, sitting in my recliner chair, I was unable to lift or lower the recliner lever. At the emergency room, doctors ran blood tests -- the virus did not show in the blood. They did x-rays and a CAT scan, suspecting a stroke.
By evening, they decided to airlift me to Rochester. Kaye and two nurses accompanied my gurney, secured in a twin Cessna, to St. Mary's Hospital. From 1:30 a.m. until nearly noon, I was tested and quizzed by many doctors. A spinal tap finally confirmed the West Nile virus. I was informed that no treatment existed.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
By this time, my right arm was in total paralysis, my left arm was weak and I was experiencing shortness of breath. Taking morphine for pain and other medications for nausea, a vicious cycle ensued.
Alarmed at the progression of the virus, doctors suggested an experimental therapy using the drug alpha-interferon. Administered by an injection in the stomach area, they put me on a 14-injection cycle.
Interferon Stopped the Virus?
After about the seventh injection, tests showed that my blood pressure was dangerously low, my kidneys were shutting down and my liver had abnormal enzymes. My body was being defeated by the virus.
Of all the things I can't recall since that fateful July day, this was not one of them. I still see me joking with the nurses as they poked and stuck me, buzzers and alarms sounding throughout the emergency room, and Kaye sitting at the foot of my gurney with tears streaming down her face, foretelling the seriousness of my condition.
Presuming an allergic reaction to the interferon, the shots were stopped. It is our conviction that the interferon also stopped the spread of the virus.
Three more days in the hospital finally stabilized me. Several additional days of outpatient appointments and I was finally given the OK to head home on August 1.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
Road to Recovery
I remained nauseous, weak, fatigued and 40 pounds lighter. I suffered a paralysis of my right hand and fingers, arm and shoulder and general weakness in my left arm. I would finally see improvement after nine months of occupational therapy three times a week.
And still I'm not out of the woods. My right shoulder is paralytic and I suffer some balance and cognitive challenges. I'm where I am today only because of the loving sacrifices of my wife Kaye, the dogged work of medical professionals and an abundance of prayerful support from many people.
The message here is, don't tempt West Nile virus. You don't need to end up like me, disrupting job, family and income.
Change your outdoor behavior. Use repellents. View the ubiquitous mosquito in a new light. The new version can make you sick with yet the possibility, however remote, of making you dead. I've had the virus and may or may not be immune. But nowadays I always carry and use repellents. You should too.
Tips to Prevent West Nile Virus
Where there's a mosquito, there's a threat. Remember to use insect repellent when outdoors. Many of these repellents contain the chemical DEET, which should not be used in amounts greater than 10% on children. Repellents with DEET are not recommended on infants two months or younger.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
Despite the threat, the summer months are a time to enjoy the outdoors. Here are some at-home tips to prevent West Nile:
1. Drain pooled water daily. This can collect in flowerpots, birdbaths or areas in the yard and can provide breeding grounds for mosquito larvae.
2. Wear protective clothing. Long sleeves and pants prevent bites, and mosquitoes are not attracted to khaki and neutral-colored clothing.
3. Keep grass short. Taller grass provides a convenient place for mosquitoes to hide.
4. Repair window and door screens. Keep those pesky mosquitoes out of the house.
For more information and statistics on West Nile in your area, check out the website for the Center for Disease Control.
Ted Upgren's love of fishing may have cost him his life. Months after contracting West Nile virus from a mosquito, the author still suffers from the illness. Wildlife biologists muck around in the field so often and put up with biting insects like mosquitoes so routinely we may think we're immune to everything. I think differently today.
I was rapped hard by the West Nile virus, and while owning the distinction of being the first human West Nile case diagnosed in North Dakota in 2003, I had little else to crow about as this dreaded disease took me for a ride that almost ended my life.
I was a reasonably healthy 60-year-old in July 2003, but on the morning of the 17th I awoke in my camper at Lake Sakakawea State Park in another world. Weak, feverish and overcome by flu-like symptoms, I was in no shape to join my son Michael for the final day of pre-fishing for North Dakota's Governors Cup Walleye Tournament.
I stayed behind and Mike returned to check on me around 1 p.m. I was delirious, feverish and suffering a strange, fatiguing weakness in my right arm. My wife Kaye arrived around 3 p.m. to cart me home. Doctors diagnosed a flu condition. At home throughout the next day I continued to deteriorate.
Doctors Suspected Stroke
The next morning, Kaye had had enough when, sitting in my recliner chair, I was unable to lift or lower the recliner lever. At the emergency room, doctors ran blood tests -- the virus did not show in the blood. They did x-rays and a CAT scan, suspecting a stroke.
By evening, they decided to airlift me to Rochester. Kaye and two nurses accompanied my gurney, secured in a twin Cessna, to St. Mary's Hospital. From 1:30 a.m. until nearly noon, I was tested and quizzed by many doctors. A spinal tap finally confirmed the West Nile virus. I was informed that no treatment existed.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
By this time, my right arm was in total paralysis, my left arm was weak and I was experiencing shortness of breath. Taking morphine for pain and other medications for nausea, a vicious cycle ensued.
Alarmed at the progression of the virus, doctors suggested an experimental therapy using the drug alpha-interferon. Administered by an injection in the stomach area, they put me on a 14-injection cycle.
Interferon Stopped the Virus?
After about the seventh injection, tests showed that my blood pressure was dangerously low, my kidneys were shutting down and my liver had abnormal enzymes. My body was being defeated by the virus.
Of all the things I can't recall since that fateful July day, this was not one of them. I still see me joking with the nurses as they poked and stuck me, buzzers and alarms sounding throughout the emergency room, and Kaye sitting at the foot of my gurney with tears streaming down her face, foretelling the seriousness of my condition.
Presuming an allergic reaction to the interferon, the shots were stopped. It is our conviction that the interferon also stopped the spread of the virus.
Three more days in the hospital finally stabilized me. Several additional days of outpatient appointments and I was finally given the OK to head home on August 1.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
Road to Recovery
I remained nauseous, weak, fatigued and 40 pounds lighter. I suffered a paralysis of my right hand and fingers, arm and shoulder and general weakness in my left arm. I would finally see improvement after nine months of occupational therapy three times a week.
And still I'm not out of the woods. My right shoulder is paralytic and I suffer some balance and cognitive challenges. I'm where I am today only because of the loving sacrifices of my wife Kaye, the dogged work of medical professionals and an abundance of prayerful support from many people.
The message here is, don't tempt West Nile virus. You don't need to end up like me, disrupting job, family and income.
Change your outdoor behavior. Use repellents. View the ubiquitous mosquito in a new light. The new version can make you sick with yet the possibility, however remote, of making you dead. I've had the virus and may or may not be immune. But nowadays I always carry and use repellents. You should too.
Tips to Prevent West Nile Virus
Where there's a mosquito, there's a threat. Remember to use insect repellent when outdoors. Many of these repellents contain the chemical DEET, which should not be used in amounts greater than 10% on children. Repellents with DEET are not recommended on infants two months or younger.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
Despite the threat, the summer months are a time to enjoy the outdoors. Here are some at-home tips to prevent West Nile:
1. Drain pooled water daily. This can collect in flowerpots, birdbaths or areas in the yard and can provide breeding grounds for mosquito larvae.
2. Wear protective clothing. Long sleeves and pants prevent bites, and mosquitoes are not attracted to khaki and neutral-colored clothing.
3. Keep grass short. Taller grass provides a convenient place for mosquitoes to hide.
4. Repair window and door screens. Keep those pesky mosquitoes out of the house.
For more information and statistics on West Nile in your area, check out the website for the Center for Disease Control.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Grant Choate, IL
Nile
Joe Leicht
Of the Suburban Journals
Enterprise Journal
11/02/2005
David Choate of Smithton is concerned, but cautiously optimistic about his son Grant's health.
Grant Choate, a 15-year-old freshman at Freeburg High School, loves to four-wheel in his spare time and was hoping to make it onto the basketball squad this year.
But in early October, Grant Choate began complaining of a fever that never seemed to subside. The fever gave way to a rash and eventually, he sought medical treatment.
"They said is was Roseola, which is not that serious and about that time, he started doing better," David Choate said.
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But the rash became blotchy and turned into welts that covered most of his body. Then he became nauseated and bed ridden and his temperature climbed to 105.
"I knew there was something very wrong and it wasn't going to go away by itself," David Choate said.
Grant Choate was checked into Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis where he was diagnosed with West Nile fever, a viral disease carried in animals and birds and transferred to humans by mosquitoes.
Grant Choate had to undergo a spinal tap as part of his diagnosis and treatment.
"We have no idea when or where he got it, but it's almost always from a mosquito bite," Grant Choate said. "Earlier, there was a horse in Smithton that had West Nile and a blue jay and crow."
The Illinois Department of Public Health did not name Grant Choate, but confirmed it is investigating a case of West Nile in St. Clair County, where one West Nile-related death was recorded earlier this year.
The IDPH reports nine West Nile deaths so far in 2005 and a total of 235 cases.
The disease is not contagious among humans and it is unlikely any persons who have not already contracted the virus will do so because fall temperatures have slowed or stopped mosquito activity.
Grant Choate is back in school but carries a water bottle and has been granted permission from school officials to take additional time getting to and from class, his father said.
Doctors have instructed Grant Choate to drink plenty of water, the best advice they can give.
"He's going to be all right," David Choate said. "It just takes time. But there is no cure for West Nile, they can only treat the symptoms and hope the body builds its own defenses."
Joe Leicht
Of the Suburban Journals
Enterprise Journal
11/02/2005
David Choate of Smithton is concerned, but cautiously optimistic about his son Grant's health.
Grant Choate, a 15-year-old freshman at Freeburg High School, loves to four-wheel in his spare time and was hoping to make it onto the basketball squad this year.
But in early October, Grant Choate began complaining of a fever that never seemed to subside. The fever gave way to a rash and eventually, he sought medical treatment.
"They said is was Roseola, which is not that serious and about that time, he started doing better," David Choate said.
Advertisement
But the rash became blotchy and turned into welts that covered most of his body. Then he became nauseated and bed ridden and his temperature climbed to 105.
"I knew there was something very wrong and it wasn't going to go away by itself," David Choate said.
Grant Choate was checked into Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis where he was diagnosed with West Nile fever, a viral disease carried in animals and birds and transferred to humans by mosquitoes.
Grant Choate had to undergo a spinal tap as part of his diagnosis and treatment.
"We have no idea when or where he got it, but it's almost always from a mosquito bite," Grant Choate said. "Earlier, there was a horse in Smithton that had West Nile and a blue jay and crow."
The Illinois Department of Public Health did not name Grant Choate, but confirmed it is investigating a case of West Nile in St. Clair County, where one West Nile-related death was recorded earlier this year.
The IDPH reports nine West Nile deaths so far in 2005 and a total of 235 cases.
The disease is not contagious among humans and it is unlikely any persons who have not already contracted the virus will do so because fall temperatures have slowed or stopped mosquito activity.
Grant Choate is back in school but carries a water bottle and has been granted permission from school officials to take additional time getting to and from class, his father said.
Doctors have instructed Grant Choate to drink plenty of water, the best advice they can give.
"He's going to be all right," David Choate said. "It just takes time. But there is no cure for West Nile, they can only treat the symptoms and hope the body builds its own defenses."
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Willie Gay, FL
A West Nile Virus Survivor
PLAY Video
By Ken Amaro
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Centers for Disease Control says when someone is infected with the West Nile Virus, one of three things happen. 1 - There are no symptons. 2 - There is West Nile Fever. 3 - There is severe West Nile Disease such as Meningitis or Encephalitis.
Last year, 70-year old Willie Gay was stricken with the West Nile Virus and recovered to say "do not ignore" the symptons.
July 2005 was the first time Wille Gay was able to return home.
"I left in July and came back in July," says Gay.
For the past year the military veteran was in the battle of his life.
"I was sick and the doctors didn't think I would make it," says Gay.
Last Summer, Gay was sitting on his front porch, as he usualy does, and was bitten by mosquito.
Gay says, "When a mosquito bites you, its not the bite. It is what it leaves behind when it bites you."
A few days later Gay wasn't feeling well and visited a hospital emergency room. However he was discharged with a sinus infection.
But he said his condition got worse.
"I knew I was sick, I didn't know how sick," says Gay.
He made another trip to the hospital.
"I had a fever so bad, I couldn't break it."
And then they told him the diagnosis - he had the West Nile Virus.
"When they told me, I thought I was going to die," says Gay.
Gay had so many complications, at one point they called in his family. Eventually, he was moved to a Veterans Hospital for a lengthy stay.
He recovered.
"I'm blessed, I wasn't ready to die," says Gay.
How do you know if you've contracted the West Nile Virus?
Ruth Voss is an Epidemiologist Nurse.
She says you can have it and not know it. "That is very common from what we understand," says Voss.
If you have symptopns they would be fevers, headaches, stiffness around the neck.
Voss says you have to keep an eye on your condition.
"If you're not feeling well and your body temperature is not improving, call your doctor,"
says Voss.
Two years ago, the C-D-C concerned about misdiagnosis, cautioned doctors about confusing viral meningitis with the West Nile Virus.
The Duval County Health Department says prevention is the key. Here are some tips:
Use repellent containing DEET if you're outdoors.
Avoid being outdoors during dusk or dawn hours. That's when mosquitoes are most active.
Wear clothing that covers your skin.
Get rid of any standing water around your home.
Created: 10/25/2005 5:50:39 PM
Updated: 10/25/2005 6:51:01 PM
Edited by Ken Amaro, Consumer Reporter
PLAY Video
By Ken Amaro
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Centers for Disease Control says when someone is infected with the West Nile Virus, one of three things happen. 1 - There are no symptons. 2 - There is West Nile Fever. 3 - There is severe West Nile Disease such as Meningitis or Encephalitis.
Last year, 70-year old Willie Gay was stricken with the West Nile Virus and recovered to say "do not ignore" the symptons.
July 2005 was the first time Wille Gay was able to return home.
"I left in July and came back in July," says Gay.
For the past year the military veteran was in the battle of his life.
"I was sick and the doctors didn't think I would make it," says Gay.
Last Summer, Gay was sitting on his front porch, as he usualy does, and was bitten by mosquito.
Gay says, "When a mosquito bites you, its not the bite. It is what it leaves behind when it bites you."
A few days later Gay wasn't feeling well and visited a hospital emergency room. However he was discharged with a sinus infection.
But he said his condition got worse.
"I knew I was sick, I didn't know how sick," says Gay.
He made another trip to the hospital.
"I had a fever so bad, I couldn't break it."
And then they told him the diagnosis - he had the West Nile Virus.
"When they told me, I thought I was going to die," says Gay.
Gay had so many complications, at one point they called in his family. Eventually, he was moved to a Veterans Hospital for a lengthy stay.
He recovered.
"I'm blessed, I wasn't ready to die," says Gay.
How do you know if you've contracted the West Nile Virus?
Ruth Voss is an Epidemiologist Nurse.
She says you can have it and not know it. "That is very common from what we understand," says Voss.
If you have symptopns they would be fevers, headaches, stiffness around the neck.
Voss says you have to keep an eye on your condition.
"If you're not feeling well and your body temperature is not improving, call your doctor,"
says Voss.
Two years ago, the C-D-C concerned about misdiagnosis, cautioned doctors about confusing viral meningitis with the West Nile Virus.
The Duval County Health Department says prevention is the key. Here are some tips:
Use repellent containing DEET if you're outdoors.
Avoid being outdoors during dusk or dawn hours. That's when mosquitoes are most active.
Wear clothing that covers your skin.
Get rid of any standing water around your home.
Created: 10/25/2005 5:50:39 PM
Updated: 10/25/2005 6:51:01 PM
Edited by Ken Amaro, Consumer Reporter
Monday, October 24, 2005
Latricia Spencer, FL-Victim
Firstcoastnews.com
Family of West Nile Virus Victim Speaks
Latricia Spencer
By Ken Amaro
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Letisha Spencer remembers her mother.
"She loved to cook," says Spencer.
And she loved to entertain her friends, family and neighbors.
Letisha Spencer says her mother would grill outdoors, ten feet from a ditch full of standing water.
Spencer believes her mom was grilling when she was bitten by a mosquito carrying West Nile Virus.
That was on a Sunday.
Two days later she was rushed to Shands Jacksonville.
LaTricia Spencer died one week later.
The family believes she was treated for viral meningitis, instead of West Nile Virus.
"They messed up, they did," says Spencer.
By law, Shands cannot discuss the patient's condition or treatment.
But the death captured news headlines and caused the Duval County Health Department to issue a West Nile Virus alert last Friday.
Spencer was also a diabetic and had no insurance.
"What we need the most is help to bury our momma," says Spencer.
The Spencer family is telling anyone who would listen, if you're going outdoors use insect repellent.
The city's Mosquito Control treated the ditch behind the Spencer's apartment, and plans to treat it again.
Shands is reportedly conducting an autopsy and will forward the cause of death in a death certificate to the funeral home.
Anyone who would like to help the family can contact the Vystar Credit Union on Dunn Avenue.
First Coast News
Dorothy Mahl, OH- Victim
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Dorothy Mahl, 88, was teacher in Covington
West Nile virus suspected
By Rebecca Goodman
Enquirer staff writer
FORT WRIGHT - Dorothy Burk Mahl, a retired teacher at John G. Carlisle School in Covington, died Friday evening at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South in Edgewood. The cause was West Nile virus, according to her brother, Willard Burk of Fort Thomas. The Fort Wright resident was 88.
She was a "very nice person, very friendly and smart," her brother said. After his wife died when his daughter, Carolyn Cruse of Villa Hills, was a child, Mrs. Mahl helped to raise her.
"Dorothy always was willing to take Carolyn - take her shopping or do anything with her. She was a second mother to my daughter."
Born in Covington to William and Alma Burk, Mrs. Mahl graduated from Eastern State Teachers College in Richmond. She taught fifth grade at Carlisle until about 20 years ago.
She liked to garden and to play bridge. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. She also was a member and former secretary of the Covington Art Club.
She became ill about 10 days ago. "She was very spry and did a lot of yard work," her brother said.
Northern Kentucky health officials say tests are being done to confirm that her death resulted from West Nile, which is carried by mosquitoes.
Mrs. Mahl's husband, Karl Mahl, died in 1985.
Survivors include her brother; a son, Karl Mahl Jr. of Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; a sister, Betty O'Toole of Crestview Hills; and one grandchild.
Visitation is 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. today followed by the funeral at Swindler & Currin Funeral Home, Latonia. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell.
Memorials: American Heart Association, 333 Guthrie St, Suite 207, Louisville, KY. 40202.
E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com
Dorothy Mahl, 88, was teacher in Covington
West Nile virus suspected
By Rebecca Goodman
Enquirer staff writer
FORT WRIGHT - Dorothy Burk Mahl, a retired teacher at John G. Carlisle School in Covington, died Friday evening at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South in Edgewood. The cause was West Nile virus, according to her brother, Willard Burk of Fort Thomas. The Fort Wright resident was 88.
She was a "very nice person, very friendly and smart," her brother said. After his wife died when his daughter, Carolyn Cruse of Villa Hills, was a child, Mrs. Mahl helped to raise her.
"Dorothy always was willing to take Carolyn - take her shopping or do anything with her. She was a second mother to my daughter."
Born in Covington to William and Alma Burk, Mrs. Mahl graduated from Eastern State Teachers College in Richmond. She taught fifth grade at Carlisle until about 20 years ago.
She liked to garden and to play bridge. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. She also was a member and former secretary of the Covington Art Club.
She became ill about 10 days ago. "She was very spry and did a lot of yard work," her brother said.
Northern Kentucky health officials say tests are being done to confirm that her death resulted from West Nile, which is carried by mosquitoes.
Mrs. Mahl's husband, Karl Mahl, died in 1985.
Survivors include her brother; a son, Karl Mahl Jr. of Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; a sister, Betty O'Toole of Crestview Hills; and one grandchild.
Visitation is 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. today followed by the funeral at Swindler & Currin Funeral Home, Latonia. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell.
Memorials: American Heart Association, 333 Guthrie St, Suite 207, Louisville, KY. 40202.
E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com
Friday, October 21, 2005
Ellis "Junior" Holloway
Posted on Fri, Oct. 21, 2005
Ga. man dies from complications related to West Nile virus
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ga. - A 63-year-old retired house painter died from complications related to the West Nile virus, the first known death from the mosquito-born disease in Georgia this year.
Ellis "Junior" Holloway thought he had the flu, but died two weeks later, his family said. "He'd been ill, vomiting for about three or four days, before he went to the hospital," said Lois Gentry, Holloway's sister.
There have been 15 reported cases of the virus in Georgia this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Last year, the state had 22 human cases of West Nile virus, none of which were fatal, according to the Georgia Division of Public Health.
In most cases, the disease is spread from mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. In a small portion of cases, the virus is spread through blood transfusions, organ transplants and breast-feeding, the CDC said.
Victims often suffer mild flu-like symptoms, but the virus can cause deadly inflammation of the brain.
Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, http://www.ledger-enquirer.com
Ga. man dies from complications related to West Nile virus
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ga. - A 63-year-old retired house painter died from complications related to the West Nile virus, the first known death from the mosquito-born disease in Georgia this year.
Ellis "Junior" Holloway thought he had the flu, but died two weeks later, his family said. "He'd been ill, vomiting for about three or four days, before he went to the hospital," said Lois Gentry, Holloway's sister.
There have been 15 reported cases of the virus in Georgia this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Last year, the state had 22 human cases of West Nile virus, none of which were fatal, according to the Georgia Division of Public Health.
In most cases, the disease is spread from mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. In a small portion of cases, the virus is spread through blood transfusions, organ transplants and breast-feeding, the CDC said.
Victims often suffer mild flu-like symptoms, but the virus can cause deadly inflammation of the brain.
Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, http://www.ledger-enquirer.com
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Jim Stuerebaut-IL
Local man survives first Illinois confirmed 2005 West Nile case
BY TODD SHIELDS
STAFF WRITER
"It's like being struck by lightning," recalled Rolling Meadows resident Jim Stuerebaut, the first Illinois resident confirmed to have contracted West Nile virus in 2005.
"I enjoyed being outdoors, golf and working around the house," said Stuerebaut, 55, who works in the accounting office of a Chicago hotel.
"It all happened fast, and it has been very, very difficult. No one can know what this is like unless they have it. No one," Stuerebaut said last week in an exclusive interview with the Review.
Although the Cook County Department of Public Health has not been releasing the names and hometowns of county residents with West Nile virus, with Stuerebaut's permission, department spokeswoman Kitty Loewy confirmed his identity to the Review and his status as the state's first confirmed person to get the virus this year.
Fitted with a brace to help him walk, Stuerebaut still uses a wheelchair around his home. A yard ramp was built up to the front door. He works two days a week and attends physical therapy sessions the other three days.
He said he feels better, but the affliction's ceaseless strain on a person's will to be healthy and lively again is evident in his voice.
"I'm trying to adapt to this change and get back to a normal life," he said.
Because Stuerebaut had been camping this summer in south-central Michigan during the incubation period, the Cook County Department of Public Health cannot determine if he acquired the virus in Illinois.
Stuerebaut said he began having intense flu symptoms July 5, followed by a month's stay in a hospital, during which a laboratory for the Illinois Department of Public Health tested his blood.
Both he and his wife, Grace Gargantiel, continue to seek Web site information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, but no cures or vaccines have been developed.
"And we've contacted government offices in Springfield to no real avail. All you can do is spray yourself with bug repellent," she said. "Jim is getting better now. Before, he couldn't get out of bed, but now he can.
"It's a terrible disease, and we never really knew much about it and didn't care. Now we know how paralyzing West Nile can be."
Illinois Department of Public Health officials said symptoms usually occur 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito, and people older than 50 years are at highest risk. The most severe cases cause paralysis or death.
In suburban Cook County, 72 cases of West Nile virus have been reported this year. Four people with the virus have died, but three succumbed to other causes, Loewy said.
In Illinois, eight deaths have occurred among 218 reported cases this year. In 2002, Illinois counted more West Nile virus cases, 884, and deaths, 67, than any state in the nation.
Todd Shields can be reached at tshields@pioneerlocal.com.
BY TODD SHIELDS
STAFF WRITER
"It's like being struck by lightning," recalled Rolling Meadows resident Jim Stuerebaut, the first Illinois resident confirmed to have contracted West Nile virus in 2005.
"I enjoyed being outdoors, golf and working around the house," said Stuerebaut, 55, who works in the accounting office of a Chicago hotel.
"It all happened fast, and it has been very, very difficult. No one can know what this is like unless they have it. No one," Stuerebaut said last week in an exclusive interview with the Review.
Although the Cook County Department of Public Health has not been releasing the names and hometowns of county residents with West Nile virus, with Stuerebaut's permission, department spokeswoman Kitty Loewy confirmed his identity to the Review and his status as the state's first confirmed person to get the virus this year.
Fitted with a brace to help him walk, Stuerebaut still uses a wheelchair around his home. A yard ramp was built up to the front door. He works two days a week and attends physical therapy sessions the other three days.
He said he feels better, but the affliction's ceaseless strain on a person's will to be healthy and lively again is evident in his voice.
"I'm trying to adapt to this change and get back to a normal life," he said.
Because Stuerebaut had been camping this summer in south-central Michigan during the incubation period, the Cook County Department of Public Health cannot determine if he acquired the virus in Illinois.
Stuerebaut said he began having intense flu symptoms July 5, followed by a month's stay in a hospital, during which a laboratory for the Illinois Department of Public Health tested his blood.
Both he and his wife, Grace Gargantiel, continue to seek Web site information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, but no cures or vaccines have been developed.
"And we've contacted government offices in Springfield to no real avail. All you can do is spray yourself with bug repellent," she said. "Jim is getting better now. Before, he couldn't get out of bed, but now he can.
"It's a terrible disease, and we never really knew much about it and didn't care. Now we know how paralyzing West Nile can be."
Illinois Department of Public Health officials said symptoms usually occur 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito, and people older than 50 years are at highest risk. The most severe cases cause paralysis or death.
In suburban Cook County, 72 cases of West Nile virus have been reported this year. Four people with the virus have died, but three succumbed to other causes, Loewy said.
In Illinois, eight deaths have occurred among 218 reported cases this year. In 2002, Illinois counted more West Nile virus cases, 884, and deaths, 67, than any state in the nation.
Todd Shields can be reached at tshields@pioneerlocal.com.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Peter Carpenter, CA-Victim
Stanislaus County Man Dies From West Nile Virus
(AP) MODESTO A 63-year-old Patterson man has died from complications from West Nile virus.
Stanislaus County health officials say the man, identified in the Modesto Bee as Peter Carpenter, died Friday in a Turlock hospital.
Three more cases of West Nile virus had been confirmed in the county, bringing the total number of cases to 85 this year.
(AP) MODESTO A 63-year-old Patterson man has died from complications from West Nile virus.
Stanislaus County health officials say the man, identified in the Modesto Bee as Peter Carpenter, died Friday in a Turlock hospital.
Three more cases of West Nile virus had been confirmed in the county, bringing the total number of cases to 85 this year.
John T. Phillips Jr., TX-Victim
Man's death linked to West Nile
Wylie: Results pending; daughter says he was ailing before diagnosis
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 19, 2005
By BILL LODGE / The Dallas Morning News
A Wylie man who died Saturday may be the first person to die from the West Nile virus in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year, Collin County officials said Tuesday.
The man, identified by his family as John T. Phillips Jr., 78, spent three weeks at Medical Center of Plano before his death.
"Although preliminary lab reports indicated that this gentleman was not positive for WNV, lab results received today indicate otherwise," said Jamie Nicolay, the county's health educator. She said officials are not aware of another West Nile death this year.
Mr. Phillips' daughter, Gail Beltz, said Tuesday that her father was diagnosed as having the virus a week and a half ago. She received confirmation of the diagnosis from health officials Monday.
She said she thinks her father, who was already in poor health, was infected while planting bushes and watering shrubs at the home where he lived with his wife on Windsor Drive, just south of Lake Lavon.
"You just can't believe a mosquito bite can do this. It's just incomprehensible," Ms. Beltz said.
Ms. Nicolay said lab tests showed that Mr. Phillips had two West Nile antibodies – the state's requirement for declaring a case of the virus.
One Plano resident and one in Parker were diagnosed with West Nile this year. Both have fully recovered, Ms. Nicolay said.
Wylie officials said mosquitoes trapped in Mr. Phillips' neighborhood have not tested positive for the virus. They scheduled mosquito fogging from midnight until 5 a.m. today in four subdivisions – Kensington Manor, Harvest Bend, Pointe North and Meadowview estates.
Ms. Nicolay said infected mosquitoes have been trapped in Plano, McKinney, Richardson and unincorporated areas.
County officials said residents should eliminate standing water, use mosquito repellant that contains DEET and remain indoors at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
Most people who come in contact with West Nile do not have adverse reactions.
Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 80 percent of people infected with West Nile never develop noticeable illnesses.
Among those who do, however, about 0.75 percent develop life-threatening illnesses, such as encephalitis and meningitis, according to the CDC.
Staff writer Paul Meyer contributed to this report.
E-mail blodge@dallasnews.com
Wylie: Results pending; daughter says he was ailing before diagnosis
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 19, 2005
By BILL LODGE / The Dallas Morning News
A Wylie man who died Saturday may be the first person to die from the West Nile virus in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year, Collin County officials said Tuesday.
The man, identified by his family as John T. Phillips Jr., 78, spent three weeks at Medical Center of Plano before his death.
"Although preliminary lab reports indicated that this gentleman was not positive for WNV, lab results received today indicate otherwise," said Jamie Nicolay, the county's health educator. She said officials are not aware of another West Nile death this year.
Mr. Phillips' daughter, Gail Beltz, said Tuesday that her father was diagnosed as having the virus a week and a half ago. She received confirmation of the diagnosis from health officials Monday.
She said she thinks her father, who was already in poor health, was infected while planting bushes and watering shrubs at the home where he lived with his wife on Windsor Drive, just south of Lake Lavon.
"You just can't believe a mosquito bite can do this. It's just incomprehensible," Ms. Beltz said.
Ms. Nicolay said lab tests showed that Mr. Phillips had two West Nile antibodies – the state's requirement for declaring a case of the virus.
One Plano resident and one in Parker were diagnosed with West Nile this year. Both have fully recovered, Ms. Nicolay said.
Wylie officials said mosquitoes trapped in Mr. Phillips' neighborhood have not tested positive for the virus. They scheduled mosquito fogging from midnight until 5 a.m. today in four subdivisions – Kensington Manor, Harvest Bend, Pointe North and Meadowview estates.
Ms. Nicolay said infected mosquitoes have been trapped in Plano, McKinney, Richardson and unincorporated areas.
County officials said residents should eliminate standing water, use mosquito repellant that contains DEET and remain indoors at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
Most people who come in contact with West Nile do not have adverse reactions.
Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 80 percent of people infected with West Nile never develop noticeable illnesses.
Among those who do, however, about 0.75 percent develop life-threatening illnesses, such as encephalitis and meningitis, according to the CDC.
Staff writer Paul Meyer contributed to this report.
E-mail blodge@dallasnews.com
Alan Bugg, NM-Victim
Man who died from West Nile virus was from Tucumcari
Last Update: 10/19/2005 8:20:14 AM
By: Associated Press
TUCUMCARI, N.M. (AP) - A Tucumcari woman says she’s angry that the state Department of Health doesn’t do more to educate the public about the West Nile virus.
Catherine Bugg says she’s also upset the agency doesn’t do more to help put a stop to the mosquitoes that carry the disease.
Bugg says her husband, 50-year-old Alan Bugg, was the second New Mexican to die this year from a West Nile viral infection.
Bugg says the department just stated that a 50-year-old male died of a disease, but she says the male was a person, and she wants to put a face on it.
Alan Bugg, who survived a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant in June, died October 7th.
Department officials say privacy laws permit them to disclose only the ages and home counties of West Nile virus victims.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Last Update: 10/19/2005 8:20:14 AM
By: Associated Press
TUCUMCARI, N.M. (AP) - A Tucumcari woman says she’s angry that the state Department of Health doesn’t do more to educate the public about the West Nile virus.
Catherine Bugg says she’s also upset the agency doesn’t do more to help put a stop to the mosquitoes that carry the disease.
Bugg says her husband, 50-year-old Alan Bugg, was the second New Mexican to die this year from a West Nile viral infection.
Bugg says the department just stated that a 50-year-old male died of a disease, but she says the male was a person, and she wants to put a face on it.
Alan Bugg, who survived a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant in June, died October 7th.
Department officials say privacy laws permit them to disclose only the ages and home counties of West Nile virus victims.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Friday, October 14, 2005
Craig Beard, MT-Victim
Powell man first victim of West Nile in state
A 53-year-old Powell man died Oct. 4 in a Billings hospital of encephalitis derived from the West Nile virus.
The victim was Craig Baird.
”He was imuneocompromised,“ said Kelly Weidebach of Cheyenne, surveillance epidemiologist for the Wyoming Department of Health.
Barid's wife was quoted in press accounts saying her husband recently had a kidney transplant.
Weidenbach said the death was the first this year in Wyoming attributed to West Nile virus.
The incident was the seventh case of the illness confirmed in the state in 2005, she added.
The other victims all are recovering, although some still show symptoms, she added.
They are from Sheridan, Natrona, Goshen, Weston and Campbell counties.
Weidenbach said Park County residents have little to fear from West Nile virus at this time of the year.
”Since the weather has been getting colder, we feel this is the end of the West Nile season,“ she said.
Incubation of the disease usually is 3-14 days from the time an infected mosquito bites a victim, she added. That means Baird likely contracted the illness about Sept. 20, and probably in Park County.
Mosquitoes ”generally die off once we've had our first freeze“ or snowfall, she said.
”The risk is low“ at this late point in the season, which peaks in late July or in August.
Even among those bitten by infected mosquitoes, West Nile virus causes neurological invasive illness in less than one percent of victims, Weidenbach added.
Eighty percent of victims experience no symptoms at all, she said.
Since 2002, when West Nile virus first appeared in Wyoming, there have been 10 human deaths, counting Baird, Weidenbach said.
In 2002 there were two human cases and no deaths; in 2003 there were 393 cases and nine human deaths; in 2004 there were 10 cases; and this year there have been seven cases and one death.
To learn more about West Nile virus and how to prevent it, visit www.badskeeter.com.
A 53-year-old Powell man died Oct. 4 in a Billings hospital of encephalitis derived from the West Nile virus.
The victim was Craig Baird.
”He was imuneocompromised,“ said Kelly Weidebach of Cheyenne, surveillance epidemiologist for the Wyoming Department of Health.
Barid's wife was quoted in press accounts saying her husband recently had a kidney transplant.
Weidenbach said the death was the first this year in Wyoming attributed to West Nile virus.
The incident was the seventh case of the illness confirmed in the state in 2005, she added.
The other victims all are recovering, although some still show symptoms, she added.
They are from Sheridan, Natrona, Goshen, Weston and Campbell counties.
Weidenbach said Park County residents have little to fear from West Nile virus at this time of the year.
”Since the weather has been getting colder, we feel this is the end of the West Nile season,“ she said.
Incubation of the disease usually is 3-14 days from the time an infected mosquito bites a victim, she added. That means Baird likely contracted the illness about Sept. 20, and probably in Park County.
Mosquitoes ”generally die off once we've had our first freeze“ or snowfall, she said.
”The risk is low“ at this late point in the season, which peaks in late July or in August.
Even among those bitten by infected mosquitoes, West Nile virus causes neurological invasive illness in less than one percent of victims, Weidenbach added.
Eighty percent of victims experience no symptoms at all, she said.
Since 2002, when West Nile virus first appeared in Wyoming, there have been 10 human deaths, counting Baird, Weidenbach said.
In 2002 there were two human cases and no deaths; in 2003 there were 393 cases and nine human deaths; in 2004 there were 10 cases; and this year there have been seven cases and one death.
To learn more about West Nile virus and how to prevent it, visit www.badskeeter.com.
Dorothy Burk Mahl, OH-Victim
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
West Nile death suspected
Woman, 88, had enjoyed being outdoors
By Andrea Remke
Enquirer staff writer
ADVERTISEMENT
FORT WRIGHT - An 88-year-old retired Covington teacher who enjoyed doing yard word is believed to have died of West Nile virus, according to her brother Willard Burk of Fort Thomas. Tests are pending to confirm the cause of death.
Dorothy Burk Mahl, who had taught at John G. Carlisle School, died Friday evening at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South in Edgewood. Mahl was a resident of Fort Wright.
The Northern Kentucky Independent Health District would confirm only that the death of a Kenton County woman Friday was believed due to West Nile. Officials would not release a name, citing privacy laws. Health department spokeswoman Emily Gresham said samples were sent to the Kentucky Public Health Lab in Frankfort, where more sophisticated tests can be performed.
"If confirmed (by the state), it would be the first West Nile death this year in Kentucky," Gresham said.
Burk said his sister was a "very nice person, very friendly and smart." After his wife's death, Mahl helped him raise his daughter, Carolyn Cruse of Villa Hills.
"Dorothy always was willing to take Carolyn - take her shopping or do anything with her. She was a second mother to my daughter."
Born in Covington to William and Alma Burk, Mahl graduated from Eastern State Teachers College in Richmond. She taught fifth grade at John G. Carlisle School until about 20 years ago.
She liked to garden and to play bridge. She was a member of the PTA, the 620 Club, the Eastern Kentucky Alumni Association, the Retired Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
She was also a member and former secretary of the Covington Art Club.
She became ill about 10 days ago.
Mrs. Mahl's husband, Karl Mahl, died in 1985. In addition to her brother, survivors include a son, Karl Mahl Jr. of Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; a sister, Betty O'Toole of Crestview Hills; and one grandchild.
Visitation is 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. today followed by the funeral at Swindler & Currin Funeral Home, 214 West Southern Ave. in Latonia. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell.
Memorials can be made to the American Heart Association, 333 Guthrie Street, Suite 207, Louisville, KY 40202.
Through last week, Health department spokesman Gresham said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 55 deaths this year across the nation from West Nile virus.
People who get the virus, primarily transmitted to humans through mosquitoes, usually show flu-like symptoms such as aches, pains and fever, Gresham said.
Although the mosquito population dies off as it gets colder, many cases still occur in late August and September, Gresham said.
The health department also monitors West Nile cases in birds and horses. There have not been any cases in either animal reported in the Boone, Campbell, Kenton or Grant county areas, but six horses and two birds tested positive in other parts of the state, according to the department.
If confirmed, Friday's death would be the fourth human case of West Nile in Kentucky this year. In two of the cases, a Kenton County man and a Grant County woman were hospitalized and are recovering, Gresham said. The other case was in the Louisville area.
Rebecca Goodman contributed to this report. E-mail aremke@enquirer.com
West Nile death suspected
Woman, 88, had enjoyed being outdoors
By Andrea Remke
Enquirer staff writer
ADVERTISEMENT
FORT WRIGHT - An 88-year-old retired Covington teacher who enjoyed doing yard word is believed to have died of West Nile virus, according to her brother Willard Burk of Fort Thomas. Tests are pending to confirm the cause of death.
Dorothy Burk Mahl, who had taught at John G. Carlisle School, died Friday evening at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South in Edgewood. Mahl was a resident of Fort Wright.
The Northern Kentucky Independent Health District would confirm only that the death of a Kenton County woman Friday was believed due to West Nile. Officials would not release a name, citing privacy laws. Health department spokeswoman Emily Gresham said samples were sent to the Kentucky Public Health Lab in Frankfort, where more sophisticated tests can be performed.
"If confirmed (by the state), it would be the first West Nile death this year in Kentucky," Gresham said.
Burk said his sister was a "very nice person, very friendly and smart." After his wife's death, Mahl helped him raise his daughter, Carolyn Cruse of Villa Hills.
"Dorothy always was willing to take Carolyn - take her shopping or do anything with her. She was a second mother to my daughter."
Born in Covington to William and Alma Burk, Mahl graduated from Eastern State Teachers College in Richmond. She taught fifth grade at John G. Carlisle School until about 20 years ago.
She liked to garden and to play bridge. She was a member of the PTA, the 620 Club, the Eastern Kentucky Alumni Association, the Retired Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
She was also a member and former secretary of the Covington Art Club.
She became ill about 10 days ago.
Mrs. Mahl's husband, Karl Mahl, died in 1985. In addition to her brother, survivors include a son, Karl Mahl Jr. of Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; a sister, Betty O'Toole of Crestview Hills; and one grandchild.
Visitation is 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. today followed by the funeral at Swindler & Currin Funeral Home, 214 West Southern Ave. in Latonia. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell.
Memorials can be made to the American Heart Association, 333 Guthrie Street, Suite 207, Louisville, KY 40202.
Through last week, Health department spokesman Gresham said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 55 deaths this year across the nation from West Nile virus.
People who get the virus, primarily transmitted to humans through mosquitoes, usually show flu-like symptoms such as aches, pains and fever, Gresham said.
Although the mosquito population dies off as it gets colder, many cases still occur in late August and September, Gresham said.
The health department also monitors West Nile cases in birds and horses. There have not been any cases in either animal reported in the Boone, Campbell, Kenton or Grant county areas, but six horses and two birds tested positive in other parts of the state, according to the department.
If confirmed, Friday's death would be the fourth human case of West Nile in Kentucky this year. In two of the cases, a Kenton County man and a Grant County woman were hospitalized and are recovering, Gresham said. The other case was in the Louisville area.
Rebecca Goodman contributed to this report. E-mail aremke@enquirer.com
Eugene Lee, MN-Victim
Posted: 10/11/05
West Nile claims Rogers man
Riverview Community Bank
by Susan M.A. Larson
Staff writer
Eugene Lee, 76, Rogers, is believed to be Hennepin County’s first death due to West Nile virus (WNV). Lee died Sept. 29 at North Memorial Medical Center, Robbinsdale.
According to Doug Schultz, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) spokesperson, it is not the MDH’s policy to release names, but he confirmed that a 76-year-old male from Hennepin County died from West Nile and “as far as we can tell from our records, we have had no other deaths in Hennepin County since we’ve had West Nile in the state in 2002.” Lee’s is the second West Nile death in Minnesota in 2005.
Jim Stark, public affairs coordinator for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD), said his department was notified by the Minne-sota Depart-ment of Health that a Rogers resident had been diagnosed with West Nile.The MMCD then looked for immature and adult mosquitos in Rogers.
“There needs to be a certain threshold of mosquitos (to spray for them) and the mosquito population (in Rogers) didn’t warrant any treatment,” said Stark.
Lee’s daughters, Wendy Lee and Jane Erickson, said their father didn’t really show any symptoms of illness. In mid-September, said Wendy, “He said he didn’t feel right. He went to an urgent care, but they didn’t find anything.”
On Sept. 21 he was to have left on a trip to Niagara Falls. But instead, Lee ended up in the hospital. Later that evening, he developed seizures, became unresponsive and had a fever of 104 that couldn’t be controlled. On Sept. 27, according to his daughters, they were told their father had West Nile, which turned into encephalitis. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, a small percentage of people infected with the West Nile virus, especially the elderly, develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain); approximately 10 percent of these encephalitis cases are fatal. However, most people infected with the West Nile virus have either no symptoms or a very mild illness. Lee also had diabetes and a heart condition.
The typical incubation period for West Nile, the MDH reports, is two–six days, although it can be as long as 15 days. Most people infected with West Nile virus will be asymptomatic or experience a flu-like illness; 20 percent of those bitten by an infected mosquito will develop the symptoms of West Nile fever and one out of 150 people bitten by an infected mosquito will develop the more severe form of West Nile, West Nile encephalitis.
Erickson and Lee stress that they don’t want to be alarmists, but “it happens and people need to be able to take precautions,” said Erickson.
“But we don’t want them hiding in their houses,” Lee added.
“We don’t want people to hibernate, just take precautions,” said Erickson.
West Nile virus (WNV) is maintained in a transmission cycle involving one or more species of mosquitoes and birds.The MDH recommends personal protection measures such as use of mosquito repellents, avoiding outdoor exposures at dusk and dawn (peak feeding time for many mosquitoes), and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to reduce the risk of West Nile. Removal of water-holding containers (mosquito breeding sites) from residential areas will reduce mosquito numbers.
Erickson and Lee remember their father as loving travel, being outdoors and genealogy.
West Nile claims Rogers man
Riverview Community Bank
by Susan M.A. Larson
Staff writer
Eugene Lee, 76, Rogers, is believed to be Hennepin County’s first death due to West Nile virus (WNV). Lee died Sept. 29 at North Memorial Medical Center, Robbinsdale.
According to Doug Schultz, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) spokesperson, it is not the MDH’s policy to release names, but he confirmed that a 76-year-old male from Hennepin County died from West Nile and “as far as we can tell from our records, we have had no other deaths in Hennepin County since we’ve had West Nile in the state in 2002.” Lee’s is the second West Nile death in Minnesota in 2005.
Jim Stark, public affairs coordinator for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD), said his department was notified by the Minne-sota Depart-ment of Health that a Rogers resident had been diagnosed with West Nile.The MMCD then looked for immature and adult mosquitos in Rogers.
“There needs to be a certain threshold of mosquitos (to spray for them) and the mosquito population (in Rogers) didn’t warrant any treatment,” said Stark.
Lee’s daughters, Wendy Lee and Jane Erickson, said their father didn’t really show any symptoms of illness. In mid-September, said Wendy, “He said he didn’t feel right. He went to an urgent care, but they didn’t find anything.”
On Sept. 21 he was to have left on a trip to Niagara Falls. But instead, Lee ended up in the hospital. Later that evening, he developed seizures, became unresponsive and had a fever of 104 that couldn’t be controlled. On Sept. 27, according to his daughters, they were told their father had West Nile, which turned into encephalitis. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, a small percentage of people infected with the West Nile virus, especially the elderly, develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain); approximately 10 percent of these encephalitis cases are fatal. However, most people infected with the West Nile virus have either no symptoms or a very mild illness. Lee also had diabetes and a heart condition.
The typical incubation period for West Nile, the MDH reports, is two–six days, although it can be as long as 15 days. Most people infected with West Nile virus will be asymptomatic or experience a flu-like illness; 20 percent of those bitten by an infected mosquito will develop the symptoms of West Nile fever and one out of 150 people bitten by an infected mosquito will develop the more severe form of West Nile, West Nile encephalitis.
Erickson and Lee stress that they don’t want to be alarmists, but “it happens and people need to be able to take precautions,” said Erickson.
“But we don’t want them hiding in their houses,” Lee added.
“We don’t want people to hibernate, just take precautions,” said Erickson.
West Nile virus (WNV) is maintained in a transmission cycle involving one or more species of mosquitoes and birds.The MDH recommends personal protection measures such as use of mosquito repellents, avoiding outdoor exposures at dusk and dawn (peak feeding time for many mosquitoes), and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to reduce the risk of West Nile. Removal of water-holding containers (mosquito breeding sites) from residential areas will reduce mosquito numbers.
Erickson and Lee remember their father as loving travel, being outdoors and genealogy.
Mamie Carda, SD-Victim
Family copes with West Nile's toll
Associated Press--Posted on Wed, Oct. 12, 2005
TABOR, S.D. - The family of a woman who died of West Nile wants to make sure others are aware that the deadly disease is still around.
Mamie Carda, 90, or Tabor, died last month and was the state's second West Nile fatality in 2005.
And her family doesn't want to see it happen to anyone else.
"The whole family is concerned about others," said Jennifer Carda, 28, wife of grandson Brad Carda, 29. "People need to be aware of West Nile."
The Cardas hope to save at least one life by telling Mamie's story, Jennifer said.
Despite her age, Mamie didn't fit the profile of the West Nile victim, Jennifer said.
"Grandma wasn't outside much," she said. "She went outside to get her mail or put her garbage out, but she didn't go many places."
Mamie lived at home and was very independent, and very healthy, Jennifer said.
"Other than this (West Nile), she was really healthy. There is a sense of frustration because she was doing so well."
But just a couple of minutes outdoors can be enough for a West Nile mosquito to bite, said April Borders, an Extension educator in Yankton County.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't go outside anymore, but you have to take precautions," she said. "You need to wear long clothing and use protectants or repellents. Our theory is that this is the last chance (for the insects) to feed before they have to hibernate for the winter."
Borders also said that mosquitoes try to get inside when the weather gets cold, so screens and windows should be checked for holes.
Mamie's case illustrates the elderly's susceptibility to West Nile, said Borders.
"At about 50 years old, you see the number of cases go up, and the cases spike for those over 70 years old," Borders said. "The older persons' immune systems are weaker, and they catch so many more things."
West Nile numbers spike in September and the current warm weather has prolonged the West Nile season, she said. The state currently has 278 reported West Nile cases and two deaths.
This time last year, South Dakota had 44 human cases and on death, much smaller than 2003's reported 1,035 cases and eight deaths.
Mamie's death has made the entirely family more vigilant about the deadly disease, Jennifer said. They're more protective of themselves and their 4-year-old son.
"West Nile can hit any time, and we have bug spray nearby for ourselves and our little boy," she said. "Our family wants to make people aware the mosquito is still out there. They need to take care of themselves."
Associated Press--Posted on Wed, Oct. 12, 2005
TABOR, S.D. - The family of a woman who died of West Nile wants to make sure others are aware that the deadly disease is still around.
Mamie Carda, 90, or Tabor, died last month and was the state's second West Nile fatality in 2005.
And her family doesn't want to see it happen to anyone else.
"The whole family is concerned about others," said Jennifer Carda, 28, wife of grandson Brad Carda, 29. "People need to be aware of West Nile."
The Cardas hope to save at least one life by telling Mamie's story, Jennifer said.
Despite her age, Mamie didn't fit the profile of the West Nile victim, Jennifer said.
"Grandma wasn't outside much," she said. "She went outside to get her mail or put her garbage out, but she didn't go many places."
Mamie lived at home and was very independent, and very healthy, Jennifer said.
"Other than this (West Nile), she was really healthy. There is a sense of frustration because she was doing so well."
But just a couple of minutes outdoors can be enough for a West Nile mosquito to bite, said April Borders, an Extension educator in Yankton County.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't go outside anymore, but you have to take precautions," she said. "You need to wear long clothing and use protectants or repellents. Our theory is that this is the last chance (for the insects) to feed before they have to hibernate for the winter."
Borders also said that mosquitoes try to get inside when the weather gets cold, so screens and windows should be checked for holes.
Mamie's case illustrates the elderly's susceptibility to West Nile, said Borders.
"At about 50 years old, you see the number of cases go up, and the cases spike for those over 70 years old," Borders said. "The older persons' immune systems are weaker, and they catch so many more things."
West Nile numbers spike in September and the current warm weather has prolonged the West Nile season, she said. The state currently has 278 reported West Nile cases and two deaths.
This time last year, South Dakota had 44 human cases and on death, much smaller than 2003's reported 1,035 cases and eight deaths.
Mamie's death has made the entirely family more vigilant about the deadly disease, Jennifer said. They're more protective of themselves and their 4-year-old son.
"West Nile can hit any time, and we have bug spray nearby for ourselves and our little boy," she said. "Our family wants to make people aware the mosquito is still out there. They need to take care of themselves."
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Dan Cullinan, AZ-Victim
Fountain Hills man dies of West Nile virus
Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
FOUNTAIN HILLS - A 74-year-old man from Fountain Hills died after battling the West Nile virus for three weeks.
Dan Cullinan, a retired teacher and part-time bartender, is the third person in Maricopa County this year to die because of complications from the virus, a county health official confirmed Wednesday.
"It got worse and worse," said Julie Cullinan, his wife of 43 years. "It was absolutely horrific. I've been through so much stuff, and I've never seen anything like this."
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Cullinan went to the hospital with flulike symptoms, including nausea, high temperature and aches. Less than a week later, Cullinan was unconscious, paralyzed and on life support, his wife said. He died Monday evening.
Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus were found in northeast Fountain Hills earlier this month, and the county has fogged in the area from McDowell Mountain Road to Grande Boulevard and from Saguaro Boulevard to San Carlos Drive.
Although the number of fatalities from West Nile is down from last year, county health officials encourage people to remove standing water from outside plants and buckets and to report stagnant water to the county.
The county also advises repairing windows with holes as well as wearing mosquito repellant and long clothes while outside, especially before dawn and after dusk.
The other West Nile casualties in the county this year were a Northwest Valley man in his 60s and a central Phoenix woman in her 80s.
Health officials confirmed 56 human West Nile cases in Maricopa County this year. Last year, 355 people in the county had the virus, 15 of whom died.
It's unknown where Cullinan contracted the mosquito-borne virus, said Emily Poland, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Peter Moen, CAN-Victim
Widow of West Nile victim urges vigilance
Oct 13 2005 09:16 AM CDT
CBC News
The widow of a Regina man who died of the West Nile virus says people need to take the disease more seriously.
Eighty-three-year-old Peter Moen died in hospital last month.
His wife says the illness came as a shock, because her husband was always active and healthy.
"Every summer at the cottage at Regina Beach, we'd have a few leaks. Up he'd be on the top of the roof, carrying the tar pail. Right up till a couple weeks before he took ill," she said.
When he got sick, the doctor said it was probably just the flu, but Moen knew her husband had been bitten by mosquitoes at their cabin.
"It was very rapid. Very, very rapid. One day he was absolutely, perfectly healthy himself. The next morning, he went for coffee, to the Golden Mile, which he did every day to meet the boys," she said. "He came home, he was flat on his back."
Within weeks, Peter Moen was dead – along with another elderly Regina man who also had the virus.
Moen's wife says she wants people to do more to protect themselves.
Saskatchewan had 60 West Nile cases this year, up from five in 2004, but far fewer than the 947 cases recorded in 2003.
According to Ross Findlater, the province's chief medical health officer, the biggest factor is actually the weather.
"There was some cool weather from the beginning of August to the middle of August, which was quite important in keeping the mosquitoes down. And then it did warm up later on, but by then many mosquitoes were already getting ready for the winter anyway."
Findlater says wearing bug spray is a good practice, but local mosquito control programs are even more important.
Those programs remain a big challenge for rural areas and resorts, he said.
Oct 13 2005 09:16 AM CDT
CBC News
The widow of a Regina man who died of the West Nile virus says people need to take the disease more seriously.
Eighty-three-year-old Peter Moen died in hospital last month.
His wife says the illness came as a shock, because her husband was always active and healthy.
"Every summer at the cottage at Regina Beach, we'd have a few leaks. Up he'd be on the top of the roof, carrying the tar pail. Right up till a couple weeks before he took ill," she said.
When he got sick, the doctor said it was probably just the flu, but Moen knew her husband had been bitten by mosquitoes at their cabin.
"It was very rapid. Very, very rapid. One day he was absolutely, perfectly healthy himself. The next morning, he went for coffee, to the Golden Mile, which he did every day to meet the boys," she said. "He came home, he was flat on his back."
Within weeks, Peter Moen was dead – along with another elderly Regina man who also had the virus.
Moen's wife says she wants people to do more to protect themselves.
Saskatchewan had 60 West Nile cases this year, up from five in 2004, but far fewer than the 947 cases recorded in 2003.
According to Ross Findlater, the province's chief medical health officer, the biggest factor is actually the weather.
"There was some cool weather from the beginning of August to the middle of August, which was quite important in keeping the mosquitoes down. And then it did warm up later on, but by then many mosquitoes were already getting ready for the winter anyway."
Findlater says wearing bug spray is a good practice, but local mosquito control programs are even more important.
Those programs remain a big challenge for rural areas and resorts, he said.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Jessica Forst, Nevada
Douglas student diagnosed with West Nile Virus
by Sheila Gardner
Nevada Appeal News Service
October 7, 2005
GARDNERVILLE - At age 17, Jessica Forst should be having the time of her life.
As a Douglas High School senior, her plans this year included looking ahead to graduation with friends she's known since kindergarten.
Instead, Jessica lies curled up on a leather loveseat in her family's Chambers Field home.
Too weak to brush her shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair, Jessica can't walk to her bedroom unattended or take a shower on her own.
Food makes her nauseated and body aches are so intense she stopped sleeping in her bed, preferring to catnap on the couch.
Rather than celebrating senior class milestones or camping with her family, Jessica has spent the past few months battling a baffling series of illnesses including spinal meningitis.
On Tuesday, Jessica got an additional diagnosis that might put things in perspective.
She has West Nile virus, one of the three human cases in Douglas County.
"It was almost a relief," her father, Jim Forst, said Wednesday.
Jessica's problems began after she had her wisdom teeth extracted in July. She developed osteomyelitis that has required surgery.
"My mouth was just full of bacteria," she said.
The infection was accompanied by swelling and intense pain that doctors fought with antibiotics and painkillers that made her sick.
She lost her appetite and 11 pounds. A teaspoon of applesauce fills her up.
With the West Nile Virus diagnosis, Jessica and her family believe things are looking up.
"We suspect now that her immune system was overloaded," Jim Forst said.
Jessica said she has no clue where the disease-bearing mosquito came from.
"I never get bit by mosquitoes," she said. "Who could think this little mosquito could cause all this trouble?"
Her parents say doctors aren't sure whether to tie the bone infection to the West Nile virus, but the spinal meningitis is a definite symptom.
On Sept. 24 Jessica had a stiff neck and a raging headache.
The next day, she was in agony.
"It was like this big lightbulb went off," Susie Forst said. "I told Jessi to look on the Internet under spinal meningitis and she had all the symptoms."
Once Jessica was officially diagnosed with spinal meningitis, she was quarantined and hospitalized for a week.
The West Nile Virus was diagnosed Tuesday.
"My doctor came out and said, 'You are the most unlucky person,' and told me what it was," Jessica said. "I just laughed at it. I couldn't believe I had it."
Jessica is under orders to rest and recover. There's not much else she can do.
"I'm not able to sleep at night," she said. "My muscles hurt even in my own bed. I leave the television on, and fall asleep on the couch."
Jessica goes to the infusion center at Carson Valley Medical Center every day where liquid and antibiotics are pumped into her frail system.
Every time her mom walks by, she tries to coax Jessica to eat a cracker or take a sip of water.
"Being a nurse is hard," she said. "I'm normally busy, but this is very time consuming."
But Susie Forst is not complaining.
Last year Jessica helped nurse her mother through breast cancer.
"She was my mom," Susie said. "She drove me everywhere and took care of me. Now it's my turn."
The Forsts said friends and neighbors have offered unflagging support.
The daughter of one of Susie Forst's co-workers at the Hairport set up a bank account to help with expenses associated with Jessica's treatment.
Some medical bills are covered by insurance and the Forsts are preparing to tackle the rest.
"We've had unbelievable support," Susie Forst said. "Somebody takes her to the infusion center if I can't. People are bringing over meals.
"If it wasn't for everybody's prayers and our faith in God, we couldn't make it through," she said. "Even the nurses at the hospital prayed for us."
Jim Forst said he and his wife have been grateful for the quality of care Jessica has received.
"I've watched the doctors and nurses. Day in and day out, they have to do all these things and they treat Jessica like she's their only patient," he said.
Some days, Jessica's fragile condition gives way to tears of frustration.
"She wants to know, 'Why me, Mom?'" Susie Forst said. "I don't know why she's had to suffer so much."
Jessica tries to keep up with her friends by e-mail and text messaging, but some days even that is too much effort.
"When they come over to visit, I usually fall asleep," she said.
Jessica said her illness has led her to think about becoming a nurse.
"I've been treated so awesome," she said. "It's just because of the good care and how people treated me. I like to help people out."
Jessica isn't thinking too much about the schoolwork that lies ahead. She said it's difficult even to try to read, but she still has concerns.
"I want to graduate with my class," she said. "I can't wait to go back to school and see all my friends."
- Contact reporter Sheila Gardner at sgardner@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 214.
by Sheila Gardner
Nevada Appeal News Service
October 7, 2005
GARDNERVILLE - At age 17, Jessica Forst should be having the time of her life.
As a Douglas High School senior, her plans this year included looking ahead to graduation with friends she's known since kindergarten.
Instead, Jessica lies curled up on a leather loveseat in her family's Chambers Field home.
Too weak to brush her shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair, Jessica can't walk to her bedroom unattended or take a shower on her own.
Food makes her nauseated and body aches are so intense she stopped sleeping in her bed, preferring to catnap on the couch.
Rather than celebrating senior class milestones or camping with her family, Jessica has spent the past few months battling a baffling series of illnesses including spinal meningitis.
On Tuesday, Jessica got an additional diagnosis that might put things in perspective.
She has West Nile virus, one of the three human cases in Douglas County.
"It was almost a relief," her father, Jim Forst, said Wednesday.
Jessica's problems began after she had her wisdom teeth extracted in July. She developed osteomyelitis that has required surgery.
"My mouth was just full of bacteria," she said.
The infection was accompanied by swelling and intense pain that doctors fought with antibiotics and painkillers that made her sick.
She lost her appetite and 11 pounds. A teaspoon of applesauce fills her up.
With the West Nile Virus diagnosis, Jessica and her family believe things are looking up.
"We suspect now that her immune system was overloaded," Jim Forst said.
Jessica said she has no clue where the disease-bearing mosquito came from.
"I never get bit by mosquitoes," she said. "Who could think this little mosquito could cause all this trouble?"
Her parents say doctors aren't sure whether to tie the bone infection to the West Nile virus, but the spinal meningitis is a definite symptom.
On Sept. 24 Jessica had a stiff neck and a raging headache.
The next day, she was in agony.
"It was like this big lightbulb went off," Susie Forst said. "I told Jessi to look on the Internet under spinal meningitis and she had all the symptoms."
Once Jessica was officially diagnosed with spinal meningitis, she was quarantined and hospitalized for a week.
The West Nile Virus was diagnosed Tuesday.
"My doctor came out and said, 'You are the most unlucky person,' and told me what it was," Jessica said. "I just laughed at it. I couldn't believe I had it."
Jessica is under orders to rest and recover. There's not much else she can do.
"I'm not able to sleep at night," she said. "My muscles hurt even in my own bed. I leave the television on, and fall asleep on the couch."
Jessica goes to the infusion center at Carson Valley Medical Center every day where liquid and antibiotics are pumped into her frail system.
Every time her mom walks by, she tries to coax Jessica to eat a cracker or take a sip of water.
"Being a nurse is hard," she said. "I'm normally busy, but this is very time consuming."
But Susie Forst is not complaining.
Last year Jessica helped nurse her mother through breast cancer.
"She was my mom," Susie said. "She drove me everywhere and took care of me. Now it's my turn."
The Forsts said friends and neighbors have offered unflagging support.
The daughter of one of Susie Forst's co-workers at the Hairport set up a bank account to help with expenses associated with Jessica's treatment.
Some medical bills are covered by insurance and the Forsts are preparing to tackle the rest.
"We've had unbelievable support," Susie Forst said. "Somebody takes her to the infusion center if I can't. People are bringing over meals.
"If it wasn't for everybody's prayers and our faith in God, we couldn't make it through," she said. "Even the nurses at the hospital prayed for us."
Jim Forst said he and his wife have been grateful for the quality of care Jessica has received.
"I've watched the doctors and nurses. Day in and day out, they have to do all these things and they treat Jessica like she's their only patient," he said.
Some days, Jessica's fragile condition gives way to tears of frustration.
"She wants to know, 'Why me, Mom?'" Susie Forst said. "I don't know why she's had to suffer so much."
Jessica tries to keep up with her friends by e-mail and text messaging, but some days even that is too much effort.
"When they come over to visit, I usually fall asleep," she said.
Jessica said her illness has led her to think about becoming a nurse.
"I've been treated so awesome," she said. "It's just because of the good care and how people treated me. I like to help people out."
Jessica isn't thinking too much about the schoolwork that lies ahead. She said it's difficult even to try to read, but she still has concerns.
"I want to graduate with my class," she said. "I can't wait to go back to school and see all my friends."
- Contact reporter Sheila Gardner at sgardner@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 214.
Charlie Ray Hatten-LA, Victim---Clarice Hatten, wife
Widow: Grayson man died of West Nile
10/7/2005, 10:10 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
GRAYSON, La. (AP) — The West Nile virus killed an 81-year-old Grayson man, his wife said.
Clarice Hatten said new autopsy results show that Charlie Ray Hatten's death on Sept. 10 was caused by the virus. The state does not confirm or deny individual cases, said Dr. Raoult Ratard, the state epidemiologist.
As of Sept. 23, the state listed six deaths statewide from the virus. Ratard has said that because some families do not want to be identified, he will not release list parishes where the virus killed people until the season is over.
At the last report, 99 people had been diagnosed with the virus in Louisiana — 54 with neuroinvasive infections of the brain or spinal fluid, 27 with less serious West Nile fever and 18 without any symptoms, infections which may be identified if someone gives blood.
___
Information from: The News-Star, http://www.thenewsstar.com
10/7/2005, 10:10 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
GRAYSON, La. (AP) — The West Nile virus killed an 81-year-old Grayson man, his wife said.
Clarice Hatten said new autopsy results show that Charlie Ray Hatten's death on Sept. 10 was caused by the virus. The state does not confirm or deny individual cases, said Dr. Raoult Ratard, the state epidemiologist.
As of Sept. 23, the state listed six deaths statewide from the virus. Ratard has said that because some families do not want to be identified, he will not release list parishes where the virus killed people until the season is over.
At the last report, 99 people had been diagnosed with the virus in Louisiana — 54 with neuroinvasive infections of the brain or spinal fluid, 27 with less serious West Nile fever and 18 without any symptoms, infections which may be identified if someone gives blood.
___
Information from: The News-Star, http://www.thenewsstar.com
Monday, October 03, 2005
Katherine Pistone, IL
Patients confront a lonely battle
Drug research lags on West Nile virus
By Josh Noel
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 2, 2005
When West Nile disease left her mother comatose and paralyzed in a hospital bed last fall, doctors could offer Patty Fritsch no sure remedy.
Her best option, they said, was a drug called Alferon N. Scientists are testing it as a treatment for West Nile, but so far, it has been approved only to treat the virus causing genital warts.
Fritsch felt she had no choice but to try it.
"When you're at life and death, you want the pill," she said. "The question isn't, `Will I get it?' It's, `How soon can you get it here?'"
More than 15,000 people have been infected by the West Nile virus since it reached the United States six years ago; almost 400 have died. Yet researchers say a vaccine won't be ready for at least two years. Work on treatments is lagging even farther behind, as scientists put a priority on prevention.
In the meantime, families are left to gamble on treatment and hope for recovery.
"The necessary work has been put in," said Vishnu Chundi, the infectious disease specialist who treated Fritsch's mother, Katherine Pistone, last year. "But it's moving at a snail's pace."
The mosquito-borne disease is nowhere near the threat it was in Illinois during the summer of 2002, when 884 people were infected and 67 died, according to the state Department of Public Health. But there has been a resurgence this summer, with new cases announced almost daily and four people dead, according to the state. Illinois has had the third-highest number of West Nile infections in the country this year (188), trailing California (801) and South Dakota (278).
Those most susceptible to West Nile are older than 50 and have suppressed immune systems.
Against the odds, Pistone, 64, appears to be beating the disease.
Days after getting 10 treatments of Alferon N, she opened her eyes. For months there was no movement, no speech and no recognition of anyone in her deep brown eyes.
Now, Pistone is conscious and gets around a North Shore rehabilitation facility in a wheelchair. She can lift her arms a few inches and do things that were unimaginable just a few months ago: brush her hair, feed herself, scratch an itch.
Fritsch, 38, doesn't know for sure if Alferon N caused Pistone's improvement, but she's on the Internet most days hunting for another new or experimental treatment. She'll consider anything that could help her mother continue to beat West Nile.
"If there's something that can speed up the process, we'll do it," Fritsch said.
Vaccine research began at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999, shortly after the first U.S. cases were seen in New York, said Jeff Chang, an infectious disease research microbiologist at the CDC.
Within six months, a West Nile vaccine for animals was created based on an encephalitis vaccine, he said. There are vaccines for mice, monkeys and horses, among others.
But approving that vaccine for humans has been a slow process even though a modified version is in trials sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health.
Chang said he is certain his vaccine will protect humans, but the trials are necessary.
"Proof the vaccine works is one side of the coin," he said. "The other side, more important, is safety."
At least two other trials for West Nile vaccines are ongoing, said Pat Repik, who leads studies on emerging viral diseases for NIAID. Some vaccines will wind up better suited for those most at risk. More robust vaccines will be better suited for younger people, she said.
However, even as interest surges from patients and health departments, industry fears simmer about whether there is actually a market for a West Nile vaccine, she said. Labs raced to find a Lyme disease vaccine when the disease dominated headlines but stopped making it when no one bought it, she said.
"Everyone is clamoring for the vaccine, but we have to see if people will actually be taking it," Repik said.
Lagging far behind and given less priority in scientific circles, is the search for West Nile treatment. The thought, said Walla Dempsey, who is leading an NIAID clinical trial, is that a West Nile vaccine will supplant the need for treatment. However, treatment still could be necessary for people with immune systems too fragile for a vaccine, she said.
At least three public and private trials are ongoing for West Nile treatments, but NIAID's trial is slow going.
The study targets 100 patients, but after three years, it is stuck at about 40 people nationwide, Dempsey said. The biggest problem has been finding patients within seven days of showing symptoms, she said.
While research continues, people such as Pistone and their families are left to fend for themselves.
Although the drug Pistone used is not approved as a West Nile treatment, Chundi said, he had no problem getting it from manufacturer, Hemispherx Biopharma, because it is FDA approved. He fed Pistone 10 doses over nine days, which is how it is being used in West Nile trials at New York Hospital Queens.
No one knows if it made a difference.
"We as doctors claim to know about a lot, but in this disease we don't really know where the outcomes are going to be," Chundi said.
Nevertheless, Pistone is getting better. She spends several hours per day in physical therapy, and her family visits daily.
She laments the horror of paralysis but maintains a bright outlook, and she even smiles as she wonders how a mosquito could so change her life.
"It upsets you that something that little can do so much damage," she said.
With no treatment or vaccine available, Chundi said, the most effective response to West Nile is simple.
"The best we can do right now is prevention," he said. "And prevention is not to be bitten by a mosquito."
----------
jbnoel@tribune.com
Drug research lags on West Nile virus
By Josh Noel
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 2, 2005
When West Nile disease left her mother comatose and paralyzed in a hospital bed last fall, doctors could offer Patty Fritsch no sure remedy.
Her best option, they said, was a drug called Alferon N. Scientists are testing it as a treatment for West Nile, but so far, it has been approved only to treat the virus causing genital warts.
Fritsch felt she had no choice but to try it.
"When you're at life and death, you want the pill," she said. "The question isn't, `Will I get it?' It's, `How soon can you get it here?'"
More than 15,000 people have been infected by the West Nile virus since it reached the United States six years ago; almost 400 have died. Yet researchers say a vaccine won't be ready for at least two years. Work on treatments is lagging even farther behind, as scientists put a priority on prevention.
In the meantime, families are left to gamble on treatment and hope for recovery.
"The necessary work has been put in," said Vishnu Chundi, the infectious disease specialist who treated Fritsch's mother, Katherine Pistone, last year. "But it's moving at a snail's pace."
The mosquito-borne disease is nowhere near the threat it was in Illinois during the summer of 2002, when 884 people were infected and 67 died, according to the state Department of Public Health. But there has been a resurgence this summer, with new cases announced almost daily and four people dead, according to the state. Illinois has had the third-highest number of West Nile infections in the country this year (188), trailing California (801) and South Dakota (278).
Those most susceptible to West Nile are older than 50 and have suppressed immune systems.
Against the odds, Pistone, 64, appears to be beating the disease.
Days after getting 10 treatments of Alferon N, she opened her eyes. For months there was no movement, no speech and no recognition of anyone in her deep brown eyes.
Now, Pistone is conscious and gets around a North Shore rehabilitation facility in a wheelchair. She can lift her arms a few inches and do things that were unimaginable just a few months ago: brush her hair, feed herself, scratch an itch.
Fritsch, 38, doesn't know for sure if Alferon N caused Pistone's improvement, but she's on the Internet most days hunting for another new or experimental treatment. She'll consider anything that could help her mother continue to beat West Nile.
"If there's something that can speed up the process, we'll do it," Fritsch said.
Vaccine research began at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999, shortly after the first U.S. cases were seen in New York, said Jeff Chang, an infectious disease research microbiologist at the CDC.
Within six months, a West Nile vaccine for animals was created based on an encephalitis vaccine, he said. There are vaccines for mice, monkeys and horses, among others.
But approving that vaccine for humans has been a slow process even though a modified version is in trials sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health.
Chang said he is certain his vaccine will protect humans, but the trials are necessary.
"Proof the vaccine works is one side of the coin," he said. "The other side, more important, is safety."
At least two other trials for West Nile vaccines are ongoing, said Pat Repik, who leads studies on emerging viral diseases for NIAID. Some vaccines will wind up better suited for those most at risk. More robust vaccines will be better suited for younger people, she said.
However, even as interest surges from patients and health departments, industry fears simmer about whether there is actually a market for a West Nile vaccine, she said. Labs raced to find a Lyme disease vaccine when the disease dominated headlines but stopped making it when no one bought it, she said.
"Everyone is clamoring for the vaccine, but we have to see if people will actually be taking it," Repik said.
Lagging far behind and given less priority in scientific circles, is the search for West Nile treatment. The thought, said Walla Dempsey, who is leading an NIAID clinical trial, is that a West Nile vaccine will supplant the need for treatment. However, treatment still could be necessary for people with immune systems too fragile for a vaccine, she said.
At least three public and private trials are ongoing for West Nile treatments, but NIAID's trial is slow going.
The study targets 100 patients, but after three years, it is stuck at about 40 people nationwide, Dempsey said. The biggest problem has been finding patients within seven days of showing symptoms, she said.
While research continues, people such as Pistone and their families are left to fend for themselves.
Although the drug Pistone used is not approved as a West Nile treatment, Chundi said, he had no problem getting it from manufacturer, Hemispherx Biopharma, because it is FDA approved. He fed Pistone 10 doses over nine days, which is how it is being used in West Nile trials at New York Hospital Queens.
No one knows if it made a difference.
"We as doctors claim to know about a lot, but in this disease we don't really know where the outcomes are going to be," Chundi said.
Nevertheless, Pistone is getting better. She spends several hours per day in physical therapy, and her family visits daily.
She laments the horror of paralysis but maintains a bright outlook, and she even smiles as she wonders how a mosquito could so change her life.
"It upsets you that something that little can do so much damage," she said.
With no treatment or vaccine available, Chundi said, the most effective response to West Nile is simple.
"The best we can do right now is prevention," he said. "And prevention is not to be bitten by a mosquito."
----------
jbnoel@tribune.com
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