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Dave Geske, La Crosse County Health Department mosquito control officer, said the man had been hospitalized in La Crosse after a high fever, stomach upset and possibly headaches. The onset of symptoms was Aug. 22, he said.
The South Side man was seriously ill, Geske said.
“This case goes to show you that you’ll find these mosquitoes in different environments such as storm sewers, containers and tires — and right in the city,” Geske said.
“The virus is in the environment, and people are at risk for the disease,” he said. “It’s the real thing, and it’s here.”
This summer a 70-year-old West Salem, Wis., man was the first human case of West Nile virus in the La Crosse area since the virus was confirmed in Wisconsin in 2001. But the man did not count as Wisconsin’s first case of 2006 because he had no symptoms. The virus was detected after he gave blood.
As of Thursday, 10 human West Nile cases have been reported in Wisconsin this year. Geske also confirmed that a horse in West Salem tested positive for the virus.
September is the peak season for West Nile and La Crosse strain of encephalitis, Geske said, so people need to make sure tires and open containers are not left outside to collect water.
Only one La Crosse encephalitis case has been reported so far this summer. In July, initial tests were positive for a 13-year-old from Gays Mills, Wis., who was very sick and hospitalized. Final test results are still not back, Geske said. The La Crosse area has averaged five to six encephalitis cases annually for the past several years.
