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ROOSEVELT — The director of the TriCounty Health Department has confirmed that a Uintah County teenager has tested positive for West Nile virus.
Joseph Shaffer said Wednesday that the teen is recovering from a less-severe form of illness caused by the virus. Shaffer did not disclose the gender of the patient or any other identifying details. Federal medical privacy laws limit the information officials can release.
Shaffer said the positive human result was returned Friday to the TriCounty Health Department, along with positive results on a golden eagle and three mosquito pools in Uintah County.
The diagnosis of the Uintah County teen brings the number of confirmed human West Nile cases in Utah this year to four, said Sharla Haley, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Health. The other three cases are in Davis, Grand and Salt Lake counties. None of the cases have proven fatal.
The state’s first death from a West Nile virus infection occurred in Uintah County in September 2005. Shirley Dale Cook of Vernal died one month after contracting the mosquito-born virus. The 72-year- old’s family said he was physically fit before his illness, but his health deteriorated rapidly, forcing him to be placed on life support shortly before his death.
Since Cook’s death, five other Utahns have died from complications of West Nile virus, according to information on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. Those deaths all occurred in 2006. Nationally, illnesses related to the virus killed 177 people in 2006, the CDC reported.
Shaffer said he’s intent on not making a big deal about the first human West Nile case in the tri-county area. Instead he wants to focus on the message of prevention.
“There’s a million things out there that can get you and West Nile is just one of them,” he said. “What I’d like to get out is the message: ‘Of course we still have it, so use precautions.”‘
In a press release that made only a passing reference to the newest human West Nile case, TriCounty Health Department officials renewed their call for the public to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants while outdoors and use mosquito repellents that contain DEET or Picaridin, specifically from dusk to dawn.
Health officials are also asking area residents to eliminate standing water around their homes to reduce mosquito breeding habitat and install or repair window and door screens.
Most people infected with West Nile virus do not manifest any symptoms; however, about 20 percent have flu-like symptoms with fever, muscle aches and possibly a rash. Although they do eventually get over the illness, recovery can be a lengthy ordeal.
Fewer than 1 percent of those infected are plagued by the more severe illnesses associated with West Nile, those affecting the brain, its membrane and the spinal cord. They may complain of headache, paralysis and stiff neck and may suffer long-lasting or permanent disability or death.
Although the risk of severe illness increases with age, there isn’t an age group that’s not at risk, health officials warn. Anyone with symptoms including high fever, severe headache and stiff neck should contact their health care provider immediately.
For more information on West Nile virus, go to www.health.utah.gov/epi.
E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com
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