Local man tests positive for West Nile

Klamath Falls Herald and News

August 31, 2007

   A Klamath County man hospitalized three weeks ago tested positive for West Nile virus, public health officials said Thursday. 

   The 79-year-old man is being treated at Sky Lakes Medical Center . Health officials would not release the man’s name or medical condition, but said he is showing improvement. His is the first human case of West Nile in Klamath County . 

    West Nile virus is a disease spread by mosquitoes that most often affects horses and corvid birds such as ravens and blue jays. 

   Most people affected with the virus have few, if any, symptoms. About 20 percent of those infected may have mild symptoms such as fever and a headache. 

   Symptoms 

   Serious symptoms affect less than 1 percent of those infected and may include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. Symptoms can last for weeks and neurological effects may be permanent. 

   Symptoms usually show up about three to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. It does not spread by casual humanto-human contact. 

   County residents have called the health department, asking what areas should be avoided to prevent exposure to West Nile , said Marilynn Sutherland, director of Klamath County public health. But, she said there is no specific area to avoid. 

   “Since mosquitoes are mobile and the county has an abundance of water bodies, it’s difficult to say where transmission might occur,” she said. 

   Advice includes wearing protective clothing, applying repellent and draining any standing water around homes until Klamath County has experienced at least one hard freeze.

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