Replies

Posted on Sat, Aug. 10, 2002

Hoosier West Nile case found
Wabash woman tested positive for disease
By Rebecca S. Green
The Journal Gazette

A 46-year-old Wabash County woman has tested positive for the West Nile virus, making her the first human case in Indiana, according to state and area health department officials.
According to Jane Skeans, a nurse with the Wabash County Health Department, the woman first became sick on Aug. 1 and received treatment at Parkview Whitley Hospital in Columbia City.

Potentially fatal, the West Nile virus has claimed seven lives in Louisiana this summer.

The fact that the case was discovered in northeast Indiana comes as no surprise to state health department officials.

"If we look at the national maps, and how this virus is spread across the country, northeast Indiana is kind of at the front of that wave," said Dr. Greg Wilson, state health commissioner.

So far no dead birds have tested positive for the virus in Wabash County.

But with Allen and now two other northeastern Indiana counties - DeKalb and LaGrange - having positive West Nile tests in birds, the disease would likely show up in adjacent areas, Wilson said.

On Tuesday, state health officials received a blood sample from the Wabash resident - who was hospitalized for severe headaches, muscle weakness, muscle pain and a rash.

That test confirmed the presence of the virus, which can develop into encephalitis, or severe swelling of the brain. The virus usually reveals itself with flulike symptoms.

Fortunately, the symptoms did not develop into a more serious form of the disease, Wilson said.

After blood tests revealed the presence of West Nile virus, state health officials notified the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials there requested the blood sample be sent to their laboratories in Fort Collins, Colo., where it tested positive again, Wilson said.

The CDC is tracking the spread of the disease nationwide, Wilson said, as well as examining the course of each case to compile statistics nationally.

More than 700 dead bird samples have been sent to the state health department, and 60 tests have come back positive for the virus, which is an increase over recent years, Wilson said.

Almost 130 human blood samples have also been tested for the virus, he said.

In other local counties, three more dead crows have been found, each testing positive for West Nile earlier this week.

Thursday afternoon, DeKalb County health officials received word that two crows found on the northwest side of Auburn tested positive for the virus. LaGrange County health officials also reported the finding of a crow that also tested positive.

"The best thing people can do is to reduce the number of mosquitoes and protect themselves when they go outside," said Mike Garrett, environmental health specialist for DeKalb County.

But DeKalb County and Auburn city officials are going to go at the problem chemically - using pesticides that attack both the larvae and adult mosquitoes.

Auburn Mayor Norman Yoder said city officials have been anticipating the arrival of the virus - which is passed from birds to mosquitoes, which then can pass it to humans.

"We've been talking about this for the past month, and what to do if we (had a positive West Nile test)," Yoder said.

While state health department officials have recommended Auburn officials spray just a one-mile radius around the spot where the dead birds were found - north of Indiana 8, near Interstate 69, Yoder said the entire city will be sprayed.

The first dead crow was reported by a nearby resident, Garrett said, with the second being reported by an Auburn police officer.

If more birds are found over the weekend, Garrett said individuals should freeze the birds until Monday and contact the health department, which will send them to the Indiana Department of Health for evaluation.

No birds within a 5-mile radius of the two previously discovered crows will be accepted, Garrett said, because the state lab has been so inundated by birds requested to be tested, they are fast becoming overwhelmed.

LaGrange County Health Department officials declined to reveal the location where the dead bird was discovered or whether they will spray for the mosquitoes.

DeKalb County officials will use a larvicide called Vectolex - a bacterial agent that kills mosquito larvae, Garrett said. Because it is bacterial in nature, it is not harmful to humans or other animals.

"I think it's more effective to hit the larvae before they hatch," Garrett said. "We know they're there. In the long term, you have to get rid of where they are coming from."

Auburn City officials will be using Anvil - a pesticide already in use in Allen County to combat mosquitoes.

"We've looked at several (pesticides)," Yoder said. "This is probably the safest, but accomplishes the goal with the mosquitoes."

State and local health department officials urge residents to eliminate all potential mosquito breeding grounds in their yards and neighborhoods - cleaning out gutters, changing the water in bird baths and shallow pools at least once a week, and emptying buckets or other containers.

"The mosquitoes don't travel that far," Wilson said. "That's the reason for neighbors to get together and clean up. They are their own best defense."

When going outside, people should also wear protective clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts and pants, as well as a mosquito repellent containing DEET.