Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?id=24740
Publish Date: 9/5/2009
Larimer County residents battling West Nile virus
By Pamela Dickman
Loveland Reporter-Herald
Ten residents have been treated for West Nile virus in Larimer County, including two from Loveland.
Three of the 10, all younger than 50, were hospitalized.
One ? a man in his 20s ? is still in the hospital.
?He?s very sick,? said Jane Viste, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Department of Health. ?He?s got encephalitis.?
The severe brain infection is one of the more serious potential consequences of West Nile virus, which is transmitted to humans by infected mos-quitoes.
?West Nile can be extremely dangerous and life-altering,? said Viste.
State statistics lag behind those reported by Larimer County, but the most recent total available is 33.
One of those treated in Larimer County is from Longmont, and the other seven are from Fort Collins, according to health officials.
Many cases are mild; some are not even diagnosed.
Others are deadly.
Last year, only one of the 78 infected Coloradans died ? a Larimer County man in his 90s.
In prior years, the West Nile death toll in the state varied from two to seven.
Except in 2003, the year the disease was first reported in the state; 63 residents died and 2,447 total infections were confirmed.
The Larimer County man who died in 2008 was bitten and infected around Labor Day, according to Viste.
So she, and other health officials, urge residents to continue to take precautions to avoid being bitten:
? Wear mosquito repellant.
? Avoid areas with standing water.
? Avoid the outdoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are active.
? Wear long sleeves and long pants.
?There?s still West Nile out there in the mosquitoes, and there will be until we have a frost,? Viste said.
Publish Date: 9/5/2009
Larimer County residents battling West Nile virus
By Pamela Dickman
Loveland Reporter-Herald
Ten residents have been treated for West Nile virus in Larimer County, including two from Loveland.
Three of the 10, all younger than 50, were hospitalized.
One ? a man in his 20s ? is still in the hospital.
?He?s very sick,? said Jane Viste, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Department of Health. ?He?s got encephalitis.?
The severe brain infection is one of the more serious potential consequences of West Nile virus, which is transmitted to humans by infected mos-quitoes.
?West Nile can be extremely dangerous and life-altering,? said Viste.
State statistics lag behind those reported by Larimer County, but the most recent total available is 33.
One of those treated in Larimer County is from Longmont, and the other seven are from Fort Collins, according to health officials.
Many cases are mild; some are not even diagnosed.
Others are deadly.
Last year, only one of the 78 infected Coloradans died ? a Larimer County man in his 90s.
In prior years, the West Nile death toll in the state varied from two to seven.
Except in 2003, the year the disease was first reported in the state; 63 residents died and 2,447 total infections were confirmed.
The Larimer County man who died in 2008 was bitten and infected around Labor Day, according to Viste.
So she, and other health officials, urge residents to continue to take precautions to avoid being bitten:
? Wear mosquito repellant.
? Avoid areas with standing water.
? Avoid the outdoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are active.
? Wear long sleeves and long pants.
?There?s still West Nile out there in the mosquitoes, and there will be until we have a frost,? Viste said.