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."

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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."