Jun. 3--A 55-year-old Pittsburg County woman is the first person to be confirmed as infected with the West Nile virus in Oklahoma this year, state health officials said Monday.
"We were surprised to get this early start," said Dr. Becky Coffman, a staff epidemiologist in the Acute Disease Service of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. "We've had mosquito pools that tested as positive as early as June. But this is the first time I can remember a case diagnosed as early as May."
Typically, the highest-risk months in Oklahoma for West Nile virus exposure are July through October, she said.
West Nile virus is a potentially serious disease that is spread through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Recent heavy rainfall might have accelerated mosquito populations. April was the wettest in Tulsa since 1988.
Mosquitoes can breed in one to two tablespoons of water, and they generally fly only a few yards in their lifetimes, Coffman said. That's why it's important to pour standing water out of buckets, cans, pool covers, flower pots or even a paper cup, she said.
The CDC said symptoms
of the disease typically develop three to 14 days after the initial infection.
About one in 150 people who have the virus will develop serious illness.
People older than 50 or who have had an organ transplant or have diabetes are at increased risk, the CDC said.
The Pittsburg County woman's infection was diagnosed in May after she complained about a sudden onset of fever, headaches, dizziness and muscle weakness, officials said. All are commonly reported symptoms of West Nile virus. The infection can cause severe illness and can kill.
Other symptoms include body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back, the CDC said. Severe symptoms can include neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.
There is no specific treatment for West Nile virus infections and no vaccine.
Last year, Oklahoma was among the top 10 states in the U.S. for the number of reported West Nile cases, with 107 cases and eight deaths, officials said.
Coffman said it is difficult to tell whether the number of cases is actually rising or whether awareness and testing for the virus are increasing.
"It's hard to say," she said. "Maybe doctors are thinking of this more and testing more."
The latest CDC data show that four cases of the virus in humans also have been reported this year in Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
Kim Archer 581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Year Cases Deaths
21 2
79 0
22 3
31 1
48 6
107 8
Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health
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