Colorado officials warn public of West Nile risk

Two counties declare health emergencies

? As she rode her bicycle along Cherry Creek in downtown Denver this week, Lisa Carley was wearing a helmet but no mosquito repellent to guard against the West Nile virus.

“I don’t even think about it,” Carley said as she took a break for a drink of water. Then, after a pause, she said: “If I was going to go camping, I would consider using repellent.”

In the state hardest hit by the West Nile virus, health officials are having a tough time convincing people who camp, bike and do other things outside to protect themselves against mosquitoes. Two counties in northern Colorado declared health emergencies this week in part to trumpet just how serious the threat has become.

The virus, first reported in Colorado a year ago, has exploded in the state over the past month, growing from a handful of cases to 450 as of Tuesday.

No one died from the virus here last year. But already this year, West Nile has killed seven people in Colorado, all women older than 65. And officials warn the peak season is coming in the next few weeks.

Experts blame the virus’ spread this year along the eastern slopes of the Rockies on an extremely wet spring followed by hot weather, which created ideal conditions for breeding mosquitoes.

The virus is passed to humans by mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds. Most often, the virus produces mild flulike symptoms. In the most serious cases, it can induce a deadly inflammation of the brain.

In Colorado, about two-thirds of those infected had not taken such precautions as using repellent, staying indoors at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, and wearing pants and long-sleeve shirts, state epidemiologist John Pape said.

In the northern counties of Larimer and Weld, where four have people died, officials declared health emergencies to boost public awareness and seek state and federal help to battle the spread of the virus.

At Kaiser Permanente, health care workers in the Denver branch receive 300 to 500 calls about West Nile daily — mostly from people who did not take precautions and are worried they have become sick, Dr. Gray Houlton said.

Last year, West Nile infected 4,156 people and killed 284 in the largest U.S. outbreak since the virus was first detected in the country in 1999. This year, there have been at least 599 cases and 11 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Loretta Aragon sprays her granddaughter, Janay, 11, with insect repellent, as a little one at right waits his turn before going to the Denver Zoo. Two counties in northern Colorado declared health emergencies this week in part to publicize just how serious the threat of West Nile virus has become.