West Nile hits home
Dead crow in Rochester tested positive for virus
GRAPHIC OF MINNESOTA COUNTIES THAT BIRDS OR HORSES HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR WEST NILE VIRUS. medicalp Dead crow in Rochester tested positive for virus
GRAPHIC OF MINNESOTA COUNTIES THAT BIRDS OR HORSES HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR WEST NILE VIRUS.
By Joshua Lynch
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jlynch@postbulletin.com
State Health Department officials confirmed Tuesday that a dead bird found in Rochester was infected with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.
This is the first verified case of a virus-infected animal in southeastern Minnesota. The closest case in Minnesota until now was found in Rice County. A case reported last week in Wabasha County involved a horse from Wisconsin.
"It just happens that someone in Olmsted County found a bird," said health department spokesman Doug Schultz. "That doesn't mean that it's not in Dodge County or Goodhue County. It's more a matter of where the animals are found."
By Tuesday afternoon, 34 horses and 57 birds across the state had tested positive for the virus. Health officials expect the numbers to rise.
Infectious disease specialists from the state and Mayo Clinic said people should be more alert but not panic.
"Be cautious, but not alarmed," said Dr. Alan Wright of Mayo Clinic. "We're not surprised it's here, but at the same time people have to be cautious and take some basic precautions."
Wright said the most effective protection from mosquito bites comes from repellents with at least 30 percent DEET. Wright said such repellents can provide up to five hours of protection from mosquitoes.
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"It's safe to put on kids if you apply it indirectly," he said. "Put it on your hand and then apply it to their skin -- but not around their face or their hands."
State Epidemiologist Harry Hull said last week the risk for human infection and death from the virus is "very small."
Wright said about 1 in 150 people who contract the West Nile virus will develop meningitis or encephalitis. Most people infected with West Nile virus have either no symptoms or mild indications, such as fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headaches or a rash.
"If a person is bit by a mosquito and then develops an illness, they should go seek their primary-care doctor," he said, "but it's unlikely that if a person is bit by a mosquito they will be infected."
As of December 2001, there were 149 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in the United States, including 18 fatalities.
BOX For more information about West Nile virus, including details about the disease and its seriousness, visit:
•www.health.state.mn.us/divs/dpc/ades/wnv/wnv.htm
; •www.ncpmc.org/NewsAlerts/2002WestNileAlert.pdf;
