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Spraying upped after infection

The increased attacks on mosquitoes come after a young girl comes down with Eastern equine encephalitis.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published July 28, 2005

WESLEY CHAPEL - A mysterious mosquito bite has landed a 16-month-old girl in the hospital with Florida's first human case of eastern equine encephalitis in two years.

The disease is rare but extremely serious. It attacks the central nervous system, causing symptoms ranging from fever, headache and nausea to coma and death. Only a handful of people across the country contract it each year, but a third of them die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The big issue is how in the world did a 16-month-old get exposed to (eastern equine encephalitis)?" said Dr. Marc Yacht, director of the Pasco County Health Department. "We don't know. I guess that's one of the major concerns we have."

Yacht declined to release the girl's name or condition, or even say which hospital she's in, due to patient privacy concerns. But he said the case is a sobering reminder that Floridians need to protect themselves against disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Like the West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis is carried by birds, then contracted by mosquitoes who bite them. The insects can then infect horses or humans.

Neither horses nor humans can spread the disease to others.

It appears the girl was infected near her Wesley Chapel home, west of Interstate 75, Yacht said. But the girl recently visited Hernando and Hillsborough counties, raising the possibility she might have been infected there, health department spokeswoman Deanna Krautner said.

The case is particularly puzzling, as there have been no cases of Pasco County horses contracting the disease this year. Nor has the virus shown up in any of the 36 sentinel chickens scattered across the county, although it has been detected in other parts of Florida.

Horses can be vaccinated against the disease, but there are no vaccines or treatments for humans. The best doctors can do is keep a patient hydrated and treat symptoms, said Dr. Douglas Holt, an infectious disease physician at the University of South Florida.

One case is not cause for alarm, Holt said.

"If we saw another case in our back yard, then you would be worried about the amount of virus in our community," he said.

Still, Pasco County Mosquito Control has stepped up its spraying efforts. A plane sprayed the Wesley Chapel area Tuesday night, and officials planned to fly over Zephyrhills, Dade City and Trilby on Wednesday night, said Mosquito Control director Dennis Moore.

"We want to try to break the cycle," Moore said. "If there is transmission occurring in this region and Pasco County, we want to try to prevent this from happening by reducing the numbers of biting mosquitoes."

The Wesley Chapel girl appears to be the third person in the United States to contract eastern equine encephalitis this year. Earlier this month, the Alabama Department of Health reported two men contracted the disease. One recovered. One died.

Mindful of those odds, Pasco officials are hoping for the best for the Wesley Chapel girl.

"We're all just sitting tight, hoping the child responds well to supportive care," Yacht said.

Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 01:10:15]