by Kenneth Todd Ruiz
Managing Editor
While political and economic crises preoccupy most Californians, health officials are seeking public help on slowing the spread of a potentially lethal virus that took the life of a La Verne resident this summer.
Jim Stepp, 83, contracted West Nile Virus while camping in North Dakota and died shortly thereafter.
Los Angeles Department of Health Services recently put county residents on notice to take steps to control the mosquito population and report dead birds for testing.
First identified in 1937 in Egypt, the virus has been creeping westward across the U.S. since appearing on the East Coast in 1999.
In four years, it has spread to all but six states, migrating into the golden state last year.
“It’s here, and we are watching it,” said Robert Miller, spokesman for the California State Health Department.
While all cases reported in California this year were brought in from other states, Miller said that a Los Angeles woman was infected locally last year.
The source of the woman’s infection was never determined.
So far this year, officials have found the virus in the state’s southernmost counties, near the Salton Sea.
Mosquito pools and so-called “sentinel” chickens have tested positive for the virus in Riverside and Imperial counties.
These caged birds serve as unpaid conscripts on the front lines of the struggle. Health officials distributed 288 groups of chickens in rural and urban locations throughout the state.
Like canaries in a coal mine, they provide early warning of danger by being tested weekly for infection.
According to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, the virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals.
Maria Iacobo, communications director for Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said that human infection is a two-step process.
“The virus cannot be spread through person-to-person contact,” Iacobo said. “mosquitoes feed off of infected animals, then bite people.”
Human infection most often goes unnoticed, however some sick with the virus experience flu-like symptoms and fever that go away in several days without long-term effects.
The real danger is for the few who develop West Nile encephalitis, an inflammation and swelling of the brain that is often fatal.
According to Iacobo, this primarily occurs in people with already compromised immune systems, such as the elderly.
As of Sept. 3, the CDC has confirmed 1,856 human infections in the U.S. this year, resulting in 31 deaths.
Mosquitoes thrive in warm weather, and because of this, the CDC has said the virus follows a seasonal pattern, with infections dropping off as temperatures cool.
“That doesn’t help the parts of California that are warm year-round,” Miller said.
West Nile virus is here to stay.
The CDC has classified its presence in the Western Hemisphere as “permanent.”
“I would not lose sleep over it, but avoiding mosquito bites is a smart thing to do,” Iacobo said. “mosquitoes carry other disease and their bites can cause infection.”
To that end, Iacobo and the county have asked that the public take several precautions.
Removing sources of standing water, such as old tires, puddles, flowerpots or trash, eliminates breeding locations for mosquitoes.
“It only takes a teaspoon of water for larvae to form,” Iacobo said.
Birdbaths or outdoor pet dishes should be changed daily, pools should be kept chlorinated, and owners of decorative ponds can obtain mosquito-eating fish for free from the county.
Iacobo also suggests repairing window screens, using insect repellents containing DEET and limiting outdoor exposure during dawn and dusk to avoid mosquitoes.
State and county health officials are also promoting a dead bird hotline.
While chickens are only carriers for the disease, the virus is fatal to many other species of birds.
“If we can get to them in 48 hours, we can get a tissue sample and test for the virus,” Iacobo said.
To help monitor the virus, the public is encouraged to report any recently dead birds found at: (877) 747-2243.
