Rhode Island News
01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 20, 2009 FELICE J. FREYER Journal Medical Writer
Jana Hesser participates in the Save the Bay Swim from Newport to Jamestown in August. Less than a year earlier she was paralyzed by an unusually severe case of West Nile virus and spent two months in the hospital.
The Providence Journal / John Freidah
Before she got the fever, before her speech slowed and her mind fogged, before her legs weakened and the EMTs carried her from her second-floor condo, Jana Hesser was bitten by a mosquito.
She doesn’t remember the bite. But later she thought she could pinpoint when it happened –– an August evening in 2008 when she’d gone for a walk with her sister in the Swan Point Cemetery, in Providence. A colleague in the state Health Department told her that mosquitoes trapped in late August at that very cemetery had tested positive for West Nile virus.
Jana Hesser’s case was reported in the newspaper, in the bland, anonymous way of such reports: “Rhode Island’s first human case of West Nile virus this year was confirmed last week, in a person with a weakened immune system.”
But if you had met her then, “weakened” would not be the word you would use to describe this athletic woman in her mid-60s, an avid walker and swimmer, a Ph.D. with a demanding job supervising the Health Department’s health and behavioral surveys. True, her immune system had recently taken a beating: She suffered from lymphoma, a cancer of the body’s infection-fighting lymph system. In July 2008 she had completed a successful round of chemotherapy.
By August, though, the worst was over. She’d recovered from the chemo and her cancer was in remission. Her doctor says Hesser was “in very robust health” at that time, the day she and her younger sister decided to take a walk in the woodsy cemetery off Blackstone Boulevard.
If Swan Point is indeed where the fateful mosquito bite occurred, the sisters’ evening stroll was the start of a remarkable medical journey.
WEST NILE VIRUS first arrived in North America in 1999, somehow making its way to New York City from the Middle East. The disease passed between mosquitoes and birds. Mosquitoes bit birds and infected them; other mosquitoes bit the infected birds, and some of those mosquitoes also bit people, injecting the virus into the bloodstream. In 2000, West Nile was found in eight northeastern states. By 2002, it had reached the West Coast.
As West Nile made its way across the continent, it turned out to be a fairly benign infection, never causing widespread illness. Four out of five infected people don’t even get sick. Among the 20 percent who do feel ill, the vast majority suffer from West Nile fever, a syndrome of fever, headache, muscle pain, rash, fatigue and sometimes nausea that fades away in a few days to a few weeks.
But West Nile also showed that it could get nasty. In about 1 in 150 cases, the virus invades the nervous system, inflaming the brain or the membranes that surround it. The result is meningitis or encephalitis, or both, bringing high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma and tremors. Usually such patients are old or have weakened immune systems.
Then, in 2002, reports emerged of West Nile taking an especially scary form. Six people in Mississippi and Louisiana lost the use of one or more limbs, a paralysis that looked exactly like polio. These patients were not all old and sickly. Five of the six were under 60; three, like Jana Hesser, were in good health before the wrong mosquito found them.
Hesser’s first symptoms came in mid-September, 2008, near the end of her visit to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston. She had gone there to have stem cells collected from her blood in preparation for a stem-cell transplant. Although her cancer was in remission, a stem-cell transplant could reduce t he likelihood that it would come back. It took three days to On the third day, Hesser started running a fever. She was with her older sister, Martha Maletta, visiting from Shrewsbury, Mass., and Martha’s husband, Lon. They brought her to Miriam Hospital, where doctors prescribed antibiotics for what they thought was almost surely a bacterial infection. They sent her home with instructions to call, if the fever didn’t break.
Hesser’s fever persisted over the next several days, followed by more troubling symptoms. When she spoke, she had trouble finding the words.
Her legs grew weak, to the point that she couldn’t get out of bed. An ambulance was summoned. Hesser remembers staring at the Miriam Hospital ceiling panels as she rolled in on a stretcher. The rest of the next week is a blank.
As Hesser was being admitted, her oncologist, Dr. Anthony E. Mega, received a phone call from Dana-Farber. In stem-cell transplants, the patient’s cells are routinely tested for every conceivable infectious agent, because the transplant procedure opens the door for any lurking infections to attack. So Hesser’s cells had been thoroughly tested. And the tests had found something.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Mega recalls the Dana-Farber doctor saying. Hesser had West Nile virus. Mega was stunned: “It wasn’t even close to being on my list of what was happening.”
Hesser had received two transfusions as part of the stem-cell collection process. West Nile can be transmitted through blood donations. But all the donors were traced and found to be free of West Nile. However unlikely it seemed, Hesser’s illness could only have originated with an unlucky mosquito bite.
In the hospital, Hesser got weaker and slow to respond. “We were watching her deteriorate before our eyes,” says Andrea Schindler, a nurse practitioner in Miriam’s cancer unit who had grown attached to Hesser. “It was scary. It was very scary.”
Fearing Hesser might lose the ability to breathe, Mega transferred her to the intensive care unit so she could be quickly put on a ventilator.
A tube was inserted through her nose to feed her.
Her two sisters worked out a plan to be with her all the time. Martha and Lon Maletta, who are retired and live less than an hour away, came on weekdays. The younger sister, Marilyn Saulle, and her husband, Roger, who work during the week and live three hours away in Yonkers, N.Y., visited on weekends.
Saulle arrived on the weekend that Hesser was in the ICU. She was shocked to see her sister attached to tubes and monitors, immobilized, trembling incessantly, and barely able to respond. “It’s like she was in there,” Saulle recalls, “but she was way in there.”
Hesser’s son, Jordan Pavlides, came by every day and stayed for a couple of hours. He remained resolutely upbeat. Pavlides, now 25, knew his mother as healthy and strong; it was unimaginable to him that she wouldn’t recover. But there were days in the intensive care unit that gave him pause. He remembers her following him with her eyes, unable to speak. The best she could do was slightly raise her eyebrows.
MEANWHILE, the medical team worked to make sense of what was happening to her. No one had ever seen a case like this. Schindler, the nurse practitioner, went online to learn more, and ended up talking by phone with one of the leading experts in nervous-system infections, Dr. James J. Sejvar of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sejvar suggested treating Hesser with immunoglobulin, a substance that fires up the immune system.
Hesser did get the immunoglobulin, but it was hard to tell if it made any difference. As with most viruses, there was no other treatment.
Schindler and Mega feared she would die, as have many others with such severe illness. They also worried she would survive, but never be the same person again.
Still, Hesser continued to breathe on her own, and she was transferred out of the ICU. Slowly, she began to come back. Her memory tunes in again around this time. She remembers crowstudents hovering over her with amazement and concern. She remembers a doctor asking her a question and the excruciatingly long time it took her to organize the nerves and muscles involved in saying “yes.”
Hesser’s sisters made use of CaringBridge.com, a social networking Web site for cancer patients. They posted updates on her condition, and friends from throughout the country replied with words of encouragement.
Over the next few days Hesser gradually emerged, sitting up, finding more words. On Oct. 10, Hesser was transferred to the rehabilitation unit at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, in Pawtucket. Although she’d undergone physical therapy at the Miriam, she could not walk and had a persistent tremor in her hands. No one knew whether she would ever walk again. The physical therapists helped Hesser onto her feet, and with a walker she took one slow step after another. Then, a few days after arriving at Memorial, Hesser’s legs gave out. She collapsed: weakness had progressed to paralysis.
Dr. Erica Szabados, a neurologist, conducted a battery of tests and found Hesser had suffered nerve loss in her thighs and hips –– in a pattern that was “consistent with West Nile virus.” But it was a very unusual manifestation of the illness. Hesser had progressed from West Nile fever, to meningitis and encephalitis, and then ––weeks later –– to paralysis. Usually, when West Nile attacks the nervous system, the symptoms appear within the first few days. Szabados plans to report Hesser’s case in a medical journal.
Most patients with West Nile paralysis suffer lasting effects; only a third return to their previous level of functioning. But Hesser was determined to walk again. “There was a part of me,” she said later, “that expected to get well because I always have.”
On Oct. 28, she was able to stand up, clutching the walker. On Oct. 30, she took three steps. Eventually she made it 40 feet.
On Nov. 19, Hesser went home, in a wheelchair, carried up the stairs just as she had been carried down two months earlier. With her sisters taking turns staying with her, she continued to work with physical therapists, and continued to build strength. The big challenge was getting down the stairs. She practiced a step at a time, her son in front of her in case she fell, a therapist behind her holding a safety belt.
On Christmas Eve, Hesser finally left her apartment on her own two feet.
Her son held onto her belt as she descended. Using a walker, she went to a party.
From there, Hesser charged forward. January: returned to work for two hours a day, using a walker; resumed swimming. March: back to work full-time, using two canes. April: attended organizational meeting for 100-mile bike ride, with one cane. June: first bike ride, 24 miles.
August: Save the Bay swim.
Yes, you read that right. Hesser participated in the annual swim across Narragansett Bay this year, her fifth time. She covered the 1.7 miles in one hour and 10 minutes, one of her best times ever. Next Sunday, Sept.
26 –– exactly one year after lying motionless in the Miriam ICU –– she will ride 100 miles in the Seacoast Century, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Today, Hesser has returned to her previous life, with a few twists. She can walk without support, but –– despite her ability to bike and swim –– she can’t walk as fast as she’d like. She can perform her job competently, but her short-term memory sometimes fails on the less-important matters.
HER LYMPHOMA remains in complete remission. In fact, Hesser believes that the West Nile infection may have wiped it out. A Dana-Farber doctor told her that an overwhelming infection can sometimes put the immune system in hyperdrive, killing a cancer. Mega, her oncologist, calls that “a relatively far-fetched theory.” He continues to monitor Hesser for relapse. If the lymphoma does return, he’s confident she’ll respond w ell to treatment. For now, though, the bone marrow transeems too risky, as long as she’s still in remission.
Now 65, Hesser plans to retire in December, hoping to travel and visit friends around the country. Asked what she took away from the experience, Hesser names several things: her deepened appreciation for her sisters and son, without whom she doesn’t think she would have survived; her newfound admiration for the competence and compassion of medical professionals, especially nurses; a sense of “nothing bothers me anymore.”
But the biggest revelation concerns all the friends who wrote and visited. She really didn’t know so many people cared. “At some level you know you have friends, but sometimes you feel like you don’t,” Hesser says. “I will never feel alone again.” This is the part that brings her to tears. “I mean, hundreds of people.”
Everyone involved with Hesser’s extraordinary illness and recovery took something away from it. Mega calls it an example of teamwork in medicine and a testament to the human spirit. Her sisters talk about how Hesser’s willpower, and physical strength from a lifetime of healthy living, got her through it.
And nearly everyone mentions mosquitoes. How they use repellent now. How they see the annoying little insects in a new light. Just last week, a batch of mosquitoes in Pawtucket tested positive for West Nile virus. No human cases have been reported this year, but mosquitoes will remain active until the first hard frost.
“People think, ‘oh it’s a bug bite–– whatever,’ ” says Szabados, the Memorial Hospital neurologist. “But it can have consequences.”
ffreyer@projo.com
For additional Mosquito Info go to: www.tuxedomosquitocontrol.com
Subscribe To Tuxedo Mosquito Control's Blog
Posts
All Comments
Mosquito control -- licensed to kill (part one)
Adulticide
On a sultry summer evening, under the spreading light of a streetlamp, two children play a game of hopscotch. So absorbed in their activity are they, completely unmindful of their surroundings, that they do not see or hear the stranger approaching.
Slowly but purposefully, the silent killer creeps along, getting ever closer. Something alerts them, the truck engine, perhaps, and the girls look up from their game.
The driver of the mosquito control truck has shut off his spray. He smiles and gives the girls a wave, waiting until he is safely past them before switching back on the fine mist that wafts up into the night air, in search of mosquitoes seeking to feed on the children.
This “silent killer” is adulticiding, which sounds a bit strange and mysterious to the layman. If homicide is the act of killing a man, or homid, why not simply call mosquito spraying “mosquitociding?
Killing mosquitoes generally falls into two categories: killing adult mosquitoes, or adulticiding, and killing them in the larval stage, or larviciding.
Adulticiding can be as simple as swatting a mosquito that has landed on your arm, or as awe-inspiring as a DC-3 roaring down Fort Meyers Beach at 200 feet above the ground with a thick white cloud of pesticide billowing out behind.
Until recently, one of the most popular ways of getting pesticide into contact with airborne mosquitoes was through the use of a thermal fog.
Pesticide – most popularly DDT just after World War II, and in later years Malathion – is mixed with diesel oil, heated and released as a cloud of tiny white particles resembling smoke. Many older Floridians have fond memories of riding their bikes behind the DDT truck. They wanted to be coated with pesticide so they could stay out late and play without being bothered by mosquitoes. An appalling practice by today's sensibilities, it doesn't seem to have harmed them in the long run.
The latest adulticide technology involves applying an Ultra Low Volume
(ULV) spray of undiluted pesticide. This does away with the diesel oil “carrier,” which makes it a good deal more efficient, environmentally friendly, and doesn't cause traffic accidents due to reduced visibility.
Tiny droplets, in the size range of 10 – 15 microns (a typical human hair is 100 microns in diameter), are released up into the air, where they spread out to be carried on the evening breeze. Droplets this small tend to remain airborne until they come into contact with a blood-seeking mosquito. The size is no accident; the equipment is calibrated so that the droplets contain just enough pesticide to kill a mosquito, yet too little to harm larger, non-target insects. Since there is much less wasted pesticide, the amount required is significantly smaller. The machines are quieter and the pesticide plume nearly invisible, resulting in numerous calls to mosquito control organizations from citizens who “haven't seen or heard the truck go by in a long
time....”*
Adulticiding at the organizational level is accomplished most commonly by truck-mounted spray systems, but also by airplane, helicopter, all-terrain vehicle, and even occasionally airboat. Mosquito control inspectors who respond to domestic service requests are equipped with hand-held sprayers, which they may use for small area space spraying, or to create a barrier around homes surrounded by extensive foliage.
The adulticides themselves have also changed over the years. A common family of pesticides in use today involves formulations of synthesized pyrethrum, a natural insect-killing substance derived from chrysanthemums (ironically one of the first pesticides, dating back to around 400 B.C.)
Killing all the mosquitoes isn't possible, however. These flying menaces have been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth; they have tremendous staying power. Part of the ir strength is their ability to adapt and develop resistance organizations have to rotate their pesticides every few years to prevent this. One tried and true pesticide, often used in aerial applications, is naled. This organophosphate not only disrupts the mosquito's nervous system, it is also caustic in nature, burning the mosquito in addition to poisoning it. A deadly killer of mosquitoes, it's unfortunately also good at eating up application equipment. Every pesticide has its drawbacks.
Thus mosquito adulticiding is a balancing act, taking into account a multitude of variables: Protecting the health and welfare of the human population; good environmental stewardship; avoiding pesticide resistance; and budget and manpower constraints. By and large, spray trucks no longer run on regular routes and schedules. Managers compile data gathered from mosquito traps, service requests, disease surveillance programs and actual observations by mosquito control inspectors to make decisions on what to spray, where to spray, when to spray, and what to spray it from.
Mosquitoes are adaptable; but so are the men and women dedicated to keeping them at bay.
Additional information on Mosquito Control Go To: href="http://www.TuxedoMosquitoControl.Com">www.TuxedoMosquitoControl.com
On a sultry summer evening, under the spreading light of a streetlamp, two children play a game of hopscotch. So absorbed in their activity are they, completely unmindful of their surroundings, that they do not see or hear the stranger approaching.
Slowly but purposefully, the silent killer creeps along, getting ever closer. Something alerts them, the truck engine, perhaps, and the girls look up from their game.
The driver of the mosquito control truck has shut off his spray. He smiles and gives the girls a wave, waiting until he is safely past them before switching back on the fine mist that wafts up into the night air, in search of mosquitoes seeking to feed on the children.
This “silent killer” is adulticiding, which sounds a bit strange and mysterious to the layman. If homicide is the act of killing a man, or homid, why not simply call mosquito spraying “mosquitociding?
Killing mosquitoes generally falls into two categories: killing adult mosquitoes, or adulticiding, and killing them in the larval stage, or larviciding.
Adulticiding can be as simple as swatting a mosquito that has landed on your arm, or as awe-inspiring as a DC-3 roaring down Fort Meyers Beach at 200 feet above the ground with a thick white cloud of pesticide billowing out behind.
Until recently, one of the most popular ways of getting pesticide into contact with airborne mosquitoes was through the use of a thermal fog.
Pesticide – most popularly DDT just after World War II, and in later years Malathion – is mixed with diesel oil, heated and released as a cloud of tiny white particles resembling smoke. Many older Floridians have fond memories of riding their bikes behind the DDT truck. They wanted to be coated with pesticide so they could stay out late and play without being bothered by mosquitoes. An appalling practice by today's sensibilities, it doesn't seem to have harmed them in the long run.
The latest adulticide technology involves applying an Ultra Low Volume
(ULV) spray of undiluted pesticide. This does away with the diesel oil “carrier,” which makes it a good deal more efficient, environmentally friendly, and doesn't cause traffic accidents due to reduced visibility.
Tiny droplets, in the size range of 10 – 15 microns (a typical human hair is 100 microns in diameter), are released up into the air, where they spread out to be carried on the evening breeze. Droplets this small tend to remain airborne until they come into contact with a blood-seeking mosquito. The size is no accident; the equipment is calibrated so that the droplets contain just enough pesticide to kill a mosquito, yet too little to harm larger, non-target insects. Since there is much less wasted pesticide, the amount required is significantly smaller. The machines are quieter and the pesticide plume nearly invisible, resulting in numerous calls to mosquito control organizations from citizens who “haven't seen or heard the truck go by in a long
time....”*
Adulticiding at the organizational level is accomplished most commonly by truck-mounted spray systems, but also by airplane, helicopter, all-terrain vehicle, and even occasionally airboat. Mosquito control inspectors who respond to domestic service requests are equipped with hand-held sprayers, which they may use for small area space spraying, or to create a barrier around homes surrounded by extensive foliage.
The adulticides themselves have also changed over the years. A common family of pesticides in use today involves formulations of synthesized pyrethrum, a natural insect-killing substance derived from chrysanthemums (ironically one of the first pesticides, dating back to around 400 B.C.)
Killing all the mosquitoes isn't possible, however. These flying menaces have been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth; they have tremendous staying power. Part of the ir strength is their ability to adapt and develop resistance organizations have to rotate their pesticides every few years to prevent this. One tried and true pesticide, often used in aerial applications, is naled. This organophosphate not only disrupts the mosquito's nervous system, it is also caustic in nature, burning the mosquito in addition to poisoning it. A deadly killer of mosquitoes, it's unfortunately also good at eating up application equipment. Every pesticide has its drawbacks.
Thus mosquito adulticiding is a balancing act, taking into account a multitude of variables: Protecting the health and welfare of the human population; good environmental stewardship; avoiding pesticide resistance; and budget and manpower constraints. By and large, spray trucks no longer run on regular routes and schedules. Managers compile data gathered from mosquito traps, service requests, disease surveillance programs and actual observations by mosquito control inspectors to make decisions on what to spray, where to spray, when to spray, and what to spray it from.
Mosquitoes are adaptable; but so are the men and women dedicated to keeping them at bay.
Additional information on Mosquito Control Go To: href="http://www.TuxedoMosquitoControl.Com">www.TuxedoMosquitoControl.com
Child recovers from rare encephalitis: Brain infection carried by mosquitoes
by Debbie Gilbert
White County News
Susan Goodrich never dreamed that a mosquito bite could endanger her child's life.
The Sautee resident admits she's a bit of a “hypochondriac” when it comes to protecting her family's health. They use hand sanitizers and they always get their flu shots.
So when her 6-year-old daughter, Summer, fell ill last month with a rare brain infection, it was as if Goodrich's worst nightmare had come true.
The ordeal began on July 26, when Summer complained of a severe headache. At first, Goodrich didn't think it was anything serious.But then her daughter began to show signs of neurological impairment. She was drooling and staring into space; she didn't respond to questions. Alarmed, Goodrich called 911. By the time paramedics arrived, Summer had begun vomiting. The child was taken by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where a spinal tap showed an unusual number of white blood cells. Doctors decided to transfer Summer by helicopter to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.By then, the little girl's breathing had become shallow. She was placed in intensive care, on a ventilator and under sedation.
It didn't take doctors long to figure out that Summer had encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. What they didn't know was what type of encephalitis she had; it would take two weeks for the lab results to come back.
For treatment purposes, the exact diagnosis didn't really matter. Since the illness is caused by a virus, all the doctors could do was try to treat the symptoms and wait for the disease to run its course. To her parents' great relief, Summer did begin to improve. She was taken off the ventilator after two days, and by the end of the week she was ready to go home from the hospital. When Goodrich finally got the test results, she was shocked. Her daughter had La Crosse encephalitis, a disease she had never heard of.
First identified in Wisconsin in 1963, La Crosse encephalitis is usually transmitted by the treehole mosquito, a species typically found in woodland habitats.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 70 cases of La Crosse are reported in the U.S. each year. But health officials believe the disease is significantly under-reported.
“A lot of the time, it's a mild illness,” said Dave Palmer, spokesman for the Georgia Division of Public Health's District 2, which includes White County.
“People just don't feel well, but they never go to a doctor.”
La Crosse is usually diagnosed only when a patient is sick enough to be hospitalized.
So far this year, there have been only two reported cases of La Crosse in Georgia. Both were in District 2. Summer Goodrich was one; the other case was in Rabun County.
But just because it's rare doesn't mean it can't happen. “I want people to know that this disease is in the area,” said Susan Goodrich. “And that there are other mosquito-borne viruses besides West Nile.”
West Nile virus gets all the publicity because it just emerged in the U.S. over the past decade. Like La Crosse, it's an arbovirus, transmitted by mosquitoes. And though both diseases have a high rate of survival, in some cases they can be deadly.
“The arboviruses can be pretty dangerous,” said Palmer. “We need to continue to try to limit our exposure to mosquitoes.”
One difference between the two diseases is that in West Nile, most of the fatalities occur in elderly people. With La Crosse, the victims are more likely to be children.
In the worst cases, La Crosse can lead to seizures, coma, and death.
Children who survive may be left with neurological problems such as learning disabilities.
Though Summer has to stay on anti-seizure medication for a month, her mother says she is otherwise normal.
“I went over all the things she's
learned (in school), and she doesn't
seem to have forgotten aShe tries to spray her daughter with insect repellent whenever they go outside. But it's a challenge to avoid mosquitoes, because they live in a wooded area.
Rosmarie Kelly, public health entomologist for the Georgia Department of Community Health, said good mosquito control can help protect against both West Nile and La Crosse.
“Clean up containers (filled with standing water),” she said.
“Especially, keep tires disposed of properly. And wear repellent.
Wear repellent.”
Last Updated: Thursday, August 20, 2009
For More Mosquito Info visit: www.MosquitoControlAtlanta.com
Copyright © 2009 The White County News
Mosquito bites are cause for concern
Jennifer Parks
Staff Writer
The Albany Herald
Saturday, July 25, 2009
ALBANY - Theoretically, all it takes to contract the West Nile virus is one bite.
And while most people bitten by Southwest Georgia mosquitoes don't become sick, there are others who aren't so lucky.
So with West Nile nearing its peak season, health officials are warning residents to take precautions against the impact of mosquito bites.
"I just think it's one of those things people need to be aware of," said Southwest District Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant. "The last thing on peoples' minds right now is mosquitoes."
Eight cases of West Nile virus were confirmed in Georgia last year, including cases in Dougherty, Lee and Mitchell counties. Almost 29,000 people in the United States have been reported with the disease since 1999, 11,760 of whom have been seriously ill and more than 1,100 of whom have died.
"We know West Nile is out there," Grant said. "We are trying to be proactive."
This warning from health officials comes two months after a health emergency was declared when an abundance of standing water left behind by torrential rainfall in the area resulted in a significant increase in the mosquito population. Asked if those circumstances would increase the West Nile concern, she replied, "If there's still a lot of stagnant water around, I'm sure."
The increase in the mosquito population and the numerous complaints from residents had public works crews working seven days a week to bring the insect traffic under control. Dougherty County Environmental Control Manager Donell Mathis was not available Friday to comment on the current status of the mosquito population.
Around 80 percent of those infected with West Nile show no symptoms, while 20 percent exhibit symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a rash.
The West Nile season starts in a late summer to early fall timeframe, with activity peaking in August. To date, there have been no human cases reported in the Southwest Health District this year.
There is no vaccine available for West Nile virus, and there is no specific treatment. Those with severe cases are hospitalized and receive supportive care such as intravenous fluids and respiratory treatment.
One of every 150 persons infected with the virus develops serious symptoms. Young children and people with compromised immune systems are among the groups most as risk. Ways to reduce the risk include:
- Avoid outdoor activity at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
- Cover exposed skin if outdoor activity is necessary.
- Use insect repellent with active ingredients such as DEET, oil of lemon, eucalyptus or picaridin.
- Drain standing water and repair screens.
For more information about West Nile Virus, go online to www.southwestgeorgiapublichealth.org. Additional information is available at www.cdc.gov.
For More Mosquito Information visit www.TuxedoMosquitoControl.com
Staff Writer
The Albany Herald
Saturday, July 25, 2009
ALBANY - Theoretically, all it takes to contract the West Nile virus is one bite.
And while most people bitten by Southwest Georgia mosquitoes don't become sick, there are others who aren't so lucky.
So with West Nile nearing its peak season, health officials are warning residents to take precautions against the impact of mosquito bites.
"I just think it's one of those things people need to be aware of," said Southwest District Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant. "The last thing on peoples' minds right now is mosquitoes."
Eight cases of West Nile virus were confirmed in Georgia last year, including cases in Dougherty, Lee and Mitchell counties. Almost 29,000 people in the United States have been reported with the disease since 1999, 11,760 of whom have been seriously ill and more than 1,100 of whom have died.
"We know West Nile is out there," Grant said. "We are trying to be proactive."
This warning from health officials comes two months after a health emergency was declared when an abundance of standing water left behind by torrential rainfall in the area resulted in a significant increase in the mosquito population. Asked if those circumstances would increase the West Nile concern, she replied, "If there's still a lot of stagnant water around, I'm sure."
The increase in the mosquito population and the numerous complaints from residents had public works crews working seven days a week to bring the insect traffic under control. Dougherty County Environmental Control Manager Donell Mathis was not available Friday to comment on the current status of the mosquito population.
Around 80 percent of those infected with West Nile show no symptoms, while 20 percent exhibit symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a rash.
The West Nile season starts in a late summer to early fall timeframe, with activity peaking in August. To date, there have been no human cases reported in the Southwest Health District this year.
There is no vaccine available for West Nile virus, and there is no specific treatment. Those with severe cases are hospitalized and receive supportive care such as intravenous fluids and respiratory treatment.
One of every 150 persons infected with the virus develops serious symptoms. Young children and people with compromised immune systems are among the groups most as risk. Ways to reduce the risk include:
- Avoid outdoor activity at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
- Cover exposed skin if outdoor activity is necessary.
- Use insect repellent with active ingredients such as DEET, oil of lemon, eucalyptus or picaridin.
- Drain standing water and repair screens.
For more information about West Nile Virus, go online to www.southwestgeorgiapublichealth.org. Additional information is available at www.cdc.gov.
For More Mosquito Information visit www.TuxedoMosquitoControl.com
Georgia Mosquitoes in the News
Grady reports Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Posted: July 13, 2009 04:41 PM
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - A horse in Grady County has tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a disease that can cause severe illness and death in humans.
The virus is spread the same way as West Nile, through the bite of an infected mosquito.
District Health Director Jacqueline Grant says this case confirms that the virus is circulating in our district. The mosquitoes that transmit the virus to horses can give it to people, too.
It generally takes from 3 to 10 days to develop symptoms after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
More information on Easter Equine Encephalitis, also known as Sleeping Sickness.
Encephalitis is one of the deadliest mosquito-borne illness.
One third of the people who contract it will die.
Symptoms range from mild flu-like illness to inflammation or swelling of the brain, coma and death.
Of those who survive, half will have permanent neurologic damage.
There are no human vaccines to protect you from the illness, so your best protection is to protect yourself from mosquito bites.
Use insect repellent
Avoid outdoor activity at dawn and dusk, the time mosquitoes are most active Wear long sleeves and long pants when outdoors during times mosquitoes are active Empty outdoor containers that collect standing water Repair screens on windows and doors.
A vaccine is available to protect equines, so owners should have their animals vaccinated.
©2009 WALB News. All rights reserved.
Posted: July 13, 2009 04:41 PM
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - A horse in Grady County has tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a disease that can cause severe illness and death in humans.
The virus is spread the same way as West Nile, through the bite of an infected mosquito.
District Health Director Jacqueline Grant says this case confirms that the virus is circulating in our district. The mosquitoes that transmit the virus to horses can give it to people, too.
It generally takes from 3 to 10 days to develop symptoms after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
More information on Easter Equine Encephalitis, also known as Sleeping Sickness.
Encephalitis is one of the deadliest mosquito-borne illness.
One third of the people who contract it will die.
Symptoms range from mild flu-like illness to inflammation or swelling of the brain, coma and death.
Of those who survive, half will have permanent neurologic damage.
There are no human vaccines to protect you from the illness, so your best protection is to protect yourself from mosquito bites.
Use insect repellent
Avoid outdoor activity at dawn and dusk, the time mosquitoes are most active Wear long sleeves and long pants when outdoors during times mosquitoes are active Empty outdoor containers that collect standing water Repair screens on windows and doors.
A vaccine is available to protect equines, so owners should have their animals vaccinated.
©2009 WALB News. All rights reserved.
Public health officials: West Nile virus risk higher after plentiful spring rains
Northwest Georgia Public Health is watching and waiting to see if the growing mosquito population throughout the 10 county area will cause more cases of West Nile Virus. Logan Boss, district marketing manager and public information officer, is more concerned with the mosquito eggs in backyards than he is about those in the woods.
“Now that we're getting into a period of prolonged rains, we're seeing an increase in mosquitoes,” he said. “We've seen mosquito eggs that have been waiting around for water for two years during the drought which are starting to hatch, so we could be dealing with two years’ worth of mosquitoes.”
West Nile Virus is the most prevalent disease transmitted by mosquitoes, Boss said. The two primary ways of prevention are to eliminate standing water around the house and making sure to have protection from the insects.
“Mosquitoes don't travel too far from where their eggs hatch,” Boss explained. “But along with eliminating those sources of standing water, practicing personal protection is important.”
Boss suggested wearing light colors with long sleeves or long legged clothing when outdoors. He also suggested trying to avoid the periods of day when they're most active — early morning and late afternoon — and to use mosquito repellents.
“There are a number of repellents out on the market, but all the data shows us that using DEET-based repellents containing 23 percent or more of the chemical work the best,” he said.
Boss also said eucalyptus oil has shown some effectiveness in scientific testing to prevent mosquito bites.
In 2008, eight cases of West Nile Virus were reported in Georgia. Two of those cases, according to Boss, were in Floyd County.
“That's 25 percent of the state total,” he said. “That could just be a factor of the numbers, but that alone that should make people understand they need to do the two primary things to prevent West Nile virus.”
Thought to be a seasonal epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control, West Nile Virus symptoms can be severe in one out of 150 cases, but in four out of five cases there are no symptoms at all.
The CDC reports symptoms in severe cases include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms in severe cases may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
In milder cases, symptoms can include fever, headache and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.
In the 20 percent of people who show mild symptoms, most of the time the CDC reports symptoms will improve on their own and don’t require needing to see a doctor. But in severe cases, hospitalization is likely required. Symptoms of West Nile Virus can take between three and 14 days to present after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Boss said other mosquito-born illnesses include Eastern Equine Encephalitis and La Crosse encephalitis, both of which are not as common as West Nile in the Northwest Georgia region.
© romenews-tribune.com 2009
“Now that we're getting into a period of prolonged rains, we're seeing an increase in mosquitoes,” he said. “We've seen mosquito eggs that have been waiting around for water for two years during the drought which are starting to hatch, so we could be dealing with two years’ worth of mosquitoes.”
West Nile Virus is the most prevalent disease transmitted by mosquitoes, Boss said. The two primary ways of prevention are to eliminate standing water around the house and making sure to have protection from the insects.
“Mosquitoes don't travel too far from where their eggs hatch,” Boss explained. “But along with eliminating those sources of standing water, practicing personal protection is important.”
Boss suggested wearing light colors with long sleeves or long legged clothing when outdoors. He also suggested trying to avoid the periods of day when they're most active — early morning and late afternoon — and to use mosquito repellents.
“There are a number of repellents out on the market, but all the data shows us that using DEET-based repellents containing 23 percent or more of the chemical work the best,” he said.
Boss also said eucalyptus oil has shown some effectiveness in scientific testing to prevent mosquito bites.
In 2008, eight cases of West Nile Virus were reported in Georgia. Two of those cases, according to Boss, were in Floyd County.
“That's 25 percent of the state total,” he said. “That could just be a factor of the numbers, but that alone that should make people understand they need to do the two primary things to prevent West Nile virus.”
Thought to be a seasonal epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control, West Nile Virus symptoms can be severe in one out of 150 cases, but in four out of five cases there are no symptoms at all.
The CDC reports symptoms in severe cases include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms in severe cases may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
In milder cases, symptoms can include fever, headache and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.
In the 20 percent of people who show mild symptoms, most of the time the CDC reports symptoms will improve on their own and don’t require needing to see a doctor. But in severe cases, hospitalization is likely required. Symptoms of West Nile Virus can take between three and 14 days to present after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Boss said other mosquito-born illnesses include Eastern Equine Encephalitis and La Crosse encephalitis, both of which are not as common as West Nile in the Northwest Georgia region.
© romenews-tribune.com 2009
The Face of West Nile Virus
Pastor’s next stop: Mayo Clinic
Delayed diagnosis of West Nile virus has lasting effects By KATHERINE HAWES GateHouse News Service Galesburg.com
Posted Jun 09, 2009 @ 10:19 AM
GALVA — As Rebekah Montgomery finishes her tenure as interim pastor of First Baptist Church of Galva, she is preparing for a new challenge — becoming a patient at the Mayo Clinic. The illness that takes her to the renowned medical center is West Nile virus, which she contracted six years ago.
In 2003, Montgomery, a successful author and speaker, was working in the garden of her Kewanee home when she was bitten by a mosquito. At the time, she did not give it much thought because she was involved “day and night with a month-long mission project.”
Montgomery could not ignore it, though, when she became violently ill while at an out-of-state speaking engagement. She awoke in her hotel room with a high fever, a purple rash on her right shoulder, and nightmares which she describes as something “Stephen King would pay good money for.” She went on to speak at the convention as planned but knew she was very sick.
Upon arriving back in Kewanee, Montgomery was still feverish and not well. She tried to go on as usual, but soon realized she was losing the capability to function normally.
Her “bellwether day” came when she stood in her kitchen, attempting to salt a dish, and could not make her hand season the food. Montgomery noticed she could not perform other everyday tasks, either, such as writing and brushing her teeth.
After seeking medical attention, she was diagnosed with poison ivy and given Prednisone, a drug that inhibits the activity of the immune system. Montgomery’s symptoms sped up at that point, and she was referred to a neurologist who told her that she had Parkinson’s disease.
The corresponding medicine again made her symptoms even worse.
She sought the opinion of Dr. Remi Satkauskas in Kewanee, who realized that something was seriously wrong, and that it was not Parkinson’s disease. Due to her physical condition, he sent her to local physical therapist Jon DeBord, who observed her and then identified her illness as West Nile virus.
When she was finally tested for WNV, the amount of virus in her body was extremely high. Montgomery felt relief to at last have a diagnosis.
“I was glad to know that it wasn’t multiple sclerosis or any of the other serious conditions that had been discussed for so many months,”
she said. “But I didn’t realize how bad West Nile virus was. At the time, nobody realized how dire it was.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, West Nile virus is “a potentially serious illness ... established as a seasonal epidemic in North America.” It is spread to humans by the bites of infected mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds.
The agency reports that “approximately 80 percent of people who are infected with WNV will not show any symptoms.” They estimate that about one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness. Severe symptoms include high fever, stiff neck, disorientation, muscle weakness, vision loss, paralysis and more.
Finding herself in the second group, Montgomery has seen how cruel an illness it can be. She still suffers from muscle paralysis on the right side of her body, with the severity coming and going. Consequently, she has greatly reduced use of her right hand and foot, and sometimes the right side of her face does not work. Her senses have become more acute, as well, making sound, temperature changes, and odors extremely intense at times.
WNV has changed Montgomery in other ways, too.
“Everything always came easily to me, like sports, and now walking is hard for me,” she said. “It has changed me in a profound way, teaching me more compassion than I realized I needed.”
Montgomery, a Christian since the age of 3, admits that her relationship with God has changed during this struggle.
“I’ve gone through all of the emotions of thdeal with early on,” she said. “I had a lot of arguments with the Almighty, and have come to realize that all talents and gifts come from God. He can sit someone on the shelf if He wants to.”
Although her physical limitations have slowed her down, she has not stopped working for the Lord. She has pastored First Baptist for one year, ending May 31. She’s also been able to continue her many writing assignments, including a weekly column, typing with one hand.
“If God calls you to do something, He’ll help you to do it. I have been able to keep up with my writing schedule. And although I haven’t been able to do everything I wanted at First Baptist, I’ve been able to keep up there,” Montgomery noted.
The Galva congregation has done well under her guidance.
“I think that Rebekah has been a real asset to our church and the community,” said Pat Gregory, a member and trustee at First Baptist. “It is always a hard time when a church is without leadership, and Rebekah has stepped in and led us in a very positive direction.”
“Rebekah has been an inspiration,” she added. “With all of her health problems she has maintained a smile and works very hard at continuing all of her obligations.”
Over the past few years, Montgomery has looked for ways to cope with the virus, including participating in an experimental drug trial, taking herbal and vitamin supplements, and joining a study of WNV patients.
Limited success has come from the alternative treatments, and she calls the Mayo Clinic her “last hope right now.”
“It’s been a fairly miserable journey,” Montgomery acknowledged. “I miss playing the guitar and piano, but I try to focus on what I can do. I have this fight within me to keep going.”
Montgomery encouraged anyone who has been bitten by a mosquito to watch out for a rash and fever, and to not assume they are coincidental.
“By being proactive and suggesting that a doctor run blood work, WNV can be caught early before it does the majority of damage,” she said.
When dealing with chronic illness, Montgomery noted that “it takes courage to keep going while suffering.”
Her battle with WNV has emphasized that life is about choices.
“I make it a point to thank the Lord every day for His blessings,” she said. “I can either live a life of moping or a life of praise.”
She has chosen the latter.
Copyright © 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Delayed diagnosis of West Nile virus has lasting effects By KATHERINE HAWES GateHouse News Service Galesburg.com
Posted Jun 09, 2009 @ 10:19 AM
GALVA — As Rebekah Montgomery finishes her tenure as interim pastor of First Baptist Church of Galva, she is preparing for a new challenge — becoming a patient at the Mayo Clinic. The illness that takes her to the renowned medical center is West Nile virus, which she contracted six years ago.
In 2003, Montgomery, a successful author and speaker, was working in the garden of her Kewanee home when she was bitten by a mosquito. At the time, she did not give it much thought because she was involved “day and night with a month-long mission project.”
Montgomery could not ignore it, though, when she became violently ill while at an out-of-state speaking engagement. She awoke in her hotel room with a high fever, a purple rash on her right shoulder, and nightmares which she describes as something “Stephen King would pay good money for.” She went on to speak at the convention as planned but knew she was very sick.
Upon arriving back in Kewanee, Montgomery was still feverish and not well. She tried to go on as usual, but soon realized she was losing the capability to function normally.
Her “bellwether day” came when she stood in her kitchen, attempting to salt a dish, and could not make her hand season the food. Montgomery noticed she could not perform other everyday tasks, either, such as writing and brushing her teeth.
After seeking medical attention, she was diagnosed with poison ivy and given Prednisone, a drug that inhibits the activity of the immune system. Montgomery’s symptoms sped up at that point, and she was referred to a neurologist who told her that she had Parkinson’s disease.
The corresponding medicine again made her symptoms even worse.
She sought the opinion of Dr. Remi Satkauskas in Kewanee, who realized that something was seriously wrong, and that it was not Parkinson’s disease. Due to her physical condition, he sent her to local physical therapist Jon DeBord, who observed her and then identified her illness as West Nile virus.
When she was finally tested for WNV, the amount of virus in her body was extremely high. Montgomery felt relief to at last have a diagnosis.
“I was glad to know that it wasn’t multiple sclerosis or any of the other serious conditions that had been discussed for so many months,”
she said. “But I didn’t realize how bad West Nile virus was. At the time, nobody realized how dire it was.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, West Nile virus is “a potentially serious illness ... established as a seasonal epidemic in North America.” It is spread to humans by the bites of infected mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds.
The agency reports that “approximately 80 percent of people who are infected with WNV will not show any symptoms.” They estimate that about one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness. Severe symptoms include high fever, stiff neck, disorientation, muscle weakness, vision loss, paralysis and more.
Finding herself in the second group, Montgomery has seen how cruel an illness it can be. She still suffers from muscle paralysis on the right side of her body, with the severity coming and going. Consequently, she has greatly reduced use of her right hand and foot, and sometimes the right side of her face does not work. Her senses have become more acute, as well, making sound, temperature changes, and odors extremely intense at times.
WNV has changed Montgomery in other ways, too.
“Everything always came easily to me, like sports, and now walking is hard for me,” she said. “It has changed me in a profound way, teaching me more compassion than I realized I needed.”
Montgomery, a Christian since the age of 3, admits that her relationship with God has changed during this struggle.
“I’ve gone through all of the emotions of thdeal with early on,” she said. “I had a lot of arguments with the Almighty, and have come to realize that all talents and gifts come from God. He can sit someone on the shelf if He wants to.”
Although her physical limitations have slowed her down, she has not stopped working for the Lord. She has pastored First Baptist for one year, ending May 31. She’s also been able to continue her many writing assignments, including a weekly column, typing with one hand.
“If God calls you to do something, He’ll help you to do it. I have been able to keep up with my writing schedule. And although I haven’t been able to do everything I wanted at First Baptist, I’ve been able to keep up there,” Montgomery noted.
The Galva congregation has done well under her guidance.
“I think that Rebekah has been a real asset to our church and the community,” said Pat Gregory, a member and trustee at First Baptist. “It is always a hard time when a church is without leadership, and Rebekah has stepped in and led us in a very positive direction.”
“Rebekah has been an inspiration,” she added. “With all of her health problems she has maintained a smile and works very hard at continuing all of her obligations.”
Over the past few years, Montgomery has looked for ways to cope with the virus, including participating in an experimental drug trial, taking herbal and vitamin supplements, and joining a study of WNV patients.
Limited success has come from the alternative treatments, and she calls the Mayo Clinic her “last hope right now.”
“It’s been a fairly miserable journey,” Montgomery acknowledged. “I miss playing the guitar and piano, but I try to focus on what I can do. I have this fight within me to keep going.”
Montgomery encouraged anyone who has been bitten by a mosquito to watch out for a rash and fever, and to not assume they are coincidental.
“By being proactive and suggesting that a doctor run blood work, WNV can be caught early before it does the majority of damage,” she said.
When dealing with chronic illness, Montgomery noted that “it takes courage to keep going while suffering.”
Her battle with WNV has emphasized that life is about choices.
“I make it a point to thank the Lord every day for His blessings,” she said. “I can either live a life of moping or a life of praise.”
She has chosen the latter.
Copyright © 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)