Pinellas reports 1st West Nile virus case
Not only is it Florida's first case this year, it's the first ever for the county. The victim is recovering.
By LISA GREENE
Published July 30, 2005
Florida's first case this year of the potentially deadly West Nile virus has been diagnosed in Pinellas County, health officials said Friday afternoon.
The 27-year-old man who came down with the virus has not been hospitalized and is recovering at home, said Jeannine Mallory, Pinellas County Health Department spokeswoman.
The man is the first person ever reported to get the virus in Pinellas.
It was diagnosed just a few days after health officials reported that Pasco County has the state's first reported case in two years of another disease transmitted by mosquitoes, eastern equine encephalitis. A 16-month-old Wesley Chapel girl stricken with the disease was continuing to recover Friday, health officials said.
Both Pinellas and Pasco are now under medical alert, which means health officials are warning residents to wear repellents and take other precautions against mosquito bites. They also want doctors to be on the lookout for virus symptoms.
"I definitely want to relate to folks in Pinellas County to take precautions," said Carina Blackmore, acting state public health veterinarian. "We're very concerned when we get human cases in urban-suburban areas like this, because the more people there are, the more likely human infections are."
Pinellas' large elderly population also is a concern, Blackmore said, because older people are more likely to develop the worst symptoms.
Most people infected with West Nile never know it. Most people who get sick develop flulike symptoms, such as headache, fatigue and fever. But about one person in 150 develops severe symptoms that can lead to coma, paralysis or death.
Eastern equine encephalitis is much rarer but more dangerous, killing about one-third of the people who get it.
It's not a surprise that somebody came down with the West Nile virus in Pinellas because the county's sentinel chickens tested positive for West Nile a few weeks ago. But health officials don't know why the virus is here.
"We have evidence . . . that there's been more virus activity there," Blackmore said. "Why is a very difficult question to answer."
Why neighboring Pasco and Pinellas have the state's only cases of mosquito-borne diseases is also a mystery. Most likely, it's only an unfortunate coincidence, Blackmore said. Each disease is carried by a different type of mosquito.
But scientists still have a lot to learn about how and why mosquito-borne diseases spread, especially West Nile, which first showed up in the United States in 1999. Mosquitoes infect birds with the virus. The disease spreads to other mosquitoes when they bite infected birds, and then to people from infected mosquitoes.
But temperatures, rain, bird migratory and breeding patterns and conditions for mosquito habitats can all play a role in whether and how widely the disease spreads.
For example, health officials aren't sure how last year's hurricanes will affect the spread of the West Nile virus this year, said state health department spokeswoman Lindsay Hodges.
"We've never had a West Nile virus season to follow such an active hurricane season," Hodges said. "We're not sure what impact that may have."
After last year's storms, health and emergency officials, worried that standing water and displaced storm victims would provide the perfect mix for a large West Nile outbreak, embarked on a massive spraying campaign.
"This year, we've had a lot of rains, and we've had Hurricane Dennis, but we've had spraying in those areas as well," Hodges said.
Staff Writer Bridget Hall Grumet contributed to this report.
PREVENTING MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASESAvoid being outside at dusk and at dawn.
Wear long sleeves and long pants.
Use repellent containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
Check around your home to get rid of standing water where mosquitoes can lay eggs.
Source: Pinellas County Health Department