Local West Nile case comes earlier than expected

A 51-year-old Douglas County man is being treated for the nation’s first case of West Nile virus this season.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that they have no other human cases at this time, said Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman Sharon Watson.

“This is early for West Nile,” Watson said. “We would expect mosquitoes to be found with West Nile in May and for it to start showing up in people in late June and peak in July and August. So, this is unusual for West Nile to appear this early.”

West Nile virus is picked up by mosquitoes when they feed on infected birds, and then they can pass it on to humans. Last year, the state’s first human case of West Nile happened in August in a 43-year-old Barton County resident.

“Once the mosquitoes are out, there’s a chance of getting it (West Nile virus),” said Kim Ens, disease control program coordinator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department. “We know it’s out there. People just need to take precautions.”

Tests for West Nile conducted by the KDHE on mosquitoes have been negative so far, Watson said. Testing on mosquitoes began in May, and the state has an increased number of surveillance centers to monitor mosquitoes.

In past years, the KDHE has monitored the West Nile virus through birds. That isn’t being done this year. Monitoring West Nile through birds proved to be an inaccurate tool, Watson said.

Preventing bites

Local, state and national health officials suggest the following to prevent mosquito bites and reduce the risk of West Nile virus:

¢ Use an insect repellent with DEET on the skin. The label directions for all repellents should be closely followed.

¢ Wear protective clothing, such as pants and long sleeves, when practical.

¢ Remove any standing water where mosquitoes breed. Those can include clogged gutters and unused tires.

¢ Limit outdoor activities at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active.

– Source: Kansas Department of Health and Environment

“We turned more of our attention to mosquitoes since they are the actual carriers of the virus,” she said.

Watson said people with West Nile can carry antibodies for years. But the case of the man in Douglas County has been designated as a 2005 case, she said.

The Douglas County man recently diagnosed has non-neuroinvasive West Nile, which includes milder symptoms of the disease. Those symptoms could include headache, fever, rash, gastrointestinal problems, muscle weakness and inflammation of the lymph nodes without any other likely explanation.

Neuroinvasive cases involve more extreme symptoms including severe headache, high fever, difficulty walking and/or talking, coma and even death.

The elderly and people with immunodeficiencies are most at risk to having complications associated with both minor and extreme cases of West Nile, Ens said.

Eighty percent of people infected with West Nile don’t know they have it, she said. The disease is very mild in most cases.

“This shouldn’t be something that keeps people from going outside,” Ens said. “People just need to realize that mosquitoes do carry diseases and they should take preventative measures.”