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A 70-year-old West Salem, Wis., man was positive in initial tests for the West Nile virus after giving blood during a recent Red Cross drive, said Dave Geske, La Crosse County Health Department mosquito control officer.
The Red Cross reported the case to the Wisconsin Division of Health.
The case could be the first in Wisconsin in 2006, and the first in La Crosse County since the virus was confirmed in Wisconsin in 2001. As of Monday, 66 birds and one horse, but no humans, in Wisconsin had been found to be infected with West Nile in 2006.
Geske said the West Salem man had no symptoms of West Nile infection and was not sick.
“We would have never known about this case if the man had not given blood,” Geske said. “I’m convinced that he is not the first case in the county. We’ve probably have had many infected, but they either didn’t have symptoms or they were sick a day or two, but never had to seek medical attention.”
He said the 70-year-old is a fit outdoorsman who usually takes precautions to ward off mosquitoes.
Patricia Fox, the state’s West Nile virus surveillance coordinator, said fewer than 1 percent of people bitten by an infected mosquito will develop severe illness.
Tests recently confirmed two birds found dead in La Crosse County, a blue jay and a crow, had the virus, Geske said.
Dead birds provide an early warning the West Nile virus “is present in the mosquito population,” Fox said.
The latest dry spell has decreased some mosquito populations, but the number of mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile virus has been increasing, Geske said, adding that the La Crosse area has all three species known to harbor the virus.
These mosquitoes like to breed in small ditches with water, and will lay eggs at the edge of the water surface, Geske said.
“In this still water with high organic materials, we still find these mosquitoes in dry weather,” he said. “You need get rid of leaves and other organic content as well as the water.”
He’s been monitoring storm sewers on La Crosse’s North Side that have been accumulating mosquitoes capable of transmitting the virus, Geske said. He hopes rain today will wash away the mosquitoes, but if not, the sewer will be treated with safe bacteria to kill the insects, Geske said.
August and September are the peak months for West Nile cases. Symptoms can include headache, high fever, muscle weakness, stiff neck, disorientation, tremors, convulsions, paralysis and coma.
Encephalitis also arrives
A 13-year-old Gays Mills, Wis., girl is thought to be the first case of La Crosse encephalitis in the La Crosse area in 2006.
Dave Geske, mosquito control officer for the La Crosse County Health Department, said the girl’s initial tests were positive for La Crosse encephalitis and Lyme disease. Geske said the tests came back last weekend, but he still is awaiting final confirmation.
“The girl was very sick and hospitalized,” Geske said. “We need to be aware that La Crosse encephalitis is here, and we should take the necessary precautions. We forget how sick children can get from this disease.”
Geske said La Crosse encephalitis cases have been reported in July in past years, but peak months for the disease are August and September. The La Crosse area has averaged five to six encephalitis cases annually for the past several years.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com, or (608) 791-8227.
