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Two Idahoans contract West Nile

Victims in Payette and Bonneville counties are the state's first cases of the season.

BY KATHLEEN KRELLER - kkreller@idahostatesman.com

Published: 07/22/08

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Symptoms of West Nile

Eighty percent of people infected with the West Nile virus will have no symptoms. Of the other 20 percent, very few will have symptoms that require a doctor's care.

Symptoms you shouldn't worry about:

Fever, headache, fatigue, skin rash and swollen lymph nodes. Treat these symptoms as you would the flu. Take acetaminophen, aspirin or ibuprofen. Drink fluids and get extra rest.

Symptoms you should worry about:

Persistent vomiting, severe stiff neck or headache; change in mental status - confusion, persistent lethargy, difficulty waking up or difficulty speaking.

Even if you have these symptoms, doctors won't be able to treat the virus itself, but they can help treat the symptoms.

Source: Dr. Stephanie Bodes, St. Luke's Boise Regional Medical Center

Health officials need your help

Health officials are asking anyone who finds dead birds to call the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which will continue testing and documenting dead birds.

Birds adversely affected by West Nile virus include magpies, crows, raptors, ravens and jays.

Fish and Game is most interested in testing birds that have been dead for less than 48-hours.

Call the southwest region office at 465-8465.

How do you get West Nile?

West Nile is primarily transmitted from birds to people via mosquito bites. Use these tips to avoid bites:

Repair or replace screens to keep out mosquitoes.

Reduce standing water that provides mosquito-breeding habitat, such as bird baths, child wading pools and flower pots.

Cover exposed skin when outdoors, especially between dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

Apply an insect repellent such as DEET.

A teenage girl from Payette County and a man in his 30s in Bonneville County are Idaho's first documented human cases of West Nile virus this year.

Neither were hospitalized with their infections, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said Monday.

Experts said the relatively cool spring delayed the start of the mosquito season in Southwest Idaho, but earlier this month, Gem County found Idaho's first infected mosquito.

Ada County abatement workers have yet to find any infected mosquitoes this year.

So far this year, 19 other states have reported West Nile activity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

West Nile virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.

In 2006, Idaho led the country with West Nile virus infections, with about 1,000 people infected. That year, 23 people died from the virus.

In 2007, Idaho had the 10th highest infection rate in the U.S., with 132 cases and one death.

Kathleen Kreller: 377-6418

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