Ridecamp: [RC] WNV forwards from VetMed - human from Illinois, description of symptoms

[3]
Date: Thu 19 Sep 2002
From: ProMED-mail <promed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Source: Anchorage Daily News, Thu 19 Sep 2002 [edited]
http://www.adn.com/front/story/1804129p-1919685c.html

Alaska: West Nile Virus Case Imported from Illinois
- ---------------------------------------------------
Alaska has confirmed its first reported case of West Nile virus, in a
77-year-old man from the Chicago suburbs who lies seriously ill in an
Anchorage hospital, state health authorities said on Wednesday
afternoon 18 Sep 2002. The man was bitten by an infected mosquito in
Illinois and is not contagious, said officials with the Alaska
Division of Public Health. They would not release his name. State
officials predicted he will recover. The man flew from Chicago to
Anchorage on 24 Aug 2002 and arrived feeling tired but otherwise
fine. But the next day, he went to the Providence Alaska Medical
Center emergency room.

Authorities say it's impossible an Alaska mosquito infected him: The
virus takes at least 3 days and up to a week for symptoms to show,
and the state's mosquito season is virtually over. Alaska is one of 8
states without reported cases of West Nile in birds, horses or
humans. The current case will be officially counted on Illinois's
ticket.

Authorities spreading the word of the Illinois man Wednesday wanted
to make it clear that Alaskans aren't now at risk from this man or
the virus. "Next spring if birds arrive with West Nile virus and
mosquitoes break out and we start seeing local cases, I think we're
going to be a lot more worried," said Dr. Bruce Chandler, the city's
medical officer. "Any disease anywhere in the world can be here in 24
hours." People who flew to Anchorage on the same plane with the
infected man are not at any greater risk, officials said. West Nile
virus is not spread person-to-person.

City and state health officials said they expect the infected man in
Anchorage to recover, and his family is with him. The hospital
refused to release his condition.The virus apparently came on fast,
according to a bulletin issued Wednesday afternoon by the Division of
Public Health:The man started feeling ill on 25 Aug and developed
increased urinary frequency, headache, and a 102-degree fever. By the
time he arrived at the hospital that night, he was mildly confused.
Then he started having trouble speaking. By 27 Aug 2002, hospital
tests revealed viral meningitis, an inflammation of the lining of the
brain and spinal cord. The hospital sent samples to the CDC lab in
Fort Collins, Colorado, to be evaluated for possible West Nile
infection. The lab confirmed on Wed the preliminary results given to
the state on Tuesday. The man has both meningitis and encephalitis --
potentially fatal conditions that develop if the virus jumps from the
blood to brain tissue.

The credit for identifying this case goes to the savvy Providence
medical staff, said Jewel Jones, director of the city's Department of
Health and Human Services. They recognized the symptoms of meningitis
and encephalitis, then considered the man's trip from the Chicago
area. "We're glad we do have astute care providers keeping up with
something like that," she said. Expert opinion varies, but officials
currently predict it's unlikely the virus will gain a foothold in
Alaska because of its short summers and brief mosquito season,
McLaughlin said.

[Byline: Zaz Hollander]

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
maryanne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.ratbusters.net 

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