West Nile Appears Able to Paralyze: Six Patients With Virus Have Symptoms Mimicking Polio

WASH POST ^

[newsperson999]

West Nile virus apparently has caused six people in Mississippi and Louisiana to develop polio-like paralysis, heightening concern about the rapidly spreading virus, federal health officials reported yesterday.

While there have been some previous reports of muscle weakness and paralysis in people infected with the virus, the earlier cases were probably misdiagnosed as a different neurological disease, federal officials said.

Now they believe the polio-like syndrome, which has left several victims struggling for their lives on a respirator, may be a direct manifestation of West Nile infection, and they want to alert doctors so they do not misdiagnose patients and give them the wrong medications.

MORE HERE

[newsperson999]

Looks like they are learning more about this virus that they didn't know before...first the blood tranfusion now this..I wonder what is next

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I'm curious -- I know the virus tends to stop spreading as mosquitoes die, but does it overwinter in birds? In other words, once found in an area, it will likely be found there at the start of mosquito season the following year? If so, then next year could be far worse than this year, if we don't do anything serious to prevent it.

[Ditter]

I don't know where you live but the Gulf Coast where we have very little winter & often not even one freeze, mosquitoes are a year round concern. The only times we are free of mosquitoes is when we are in a dry spell & there is no standing water for them to hatch.

[backhoe]

Cross-link:

West Nile Virus- some basic information--

[Rodney King]

This will continue to escalate until we start sprying DDT again. Swamps and mosquitos are not our friends.

[cajungirl]

Interesting. I know someone who in the prime of good health, early forties, got a viral illness, developed Guillain Barre {ascending paralysis} and died in about two days. Nobody knew why. She died on the respirator. I wonder about West Nile, it was this summer.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I live in Connecticut, which has had only a handful of confirmed cases (fewer than ten, I think). Yet Illinois has had hundreds upon hundreds, and their winter is just as bad as ours (if not worse). This disease is a puzzle, to be sure.

[Ditter]

I am puzzled by so many cases in IL as well, but the point I was trying to make is that the country, as a whole will not be spared from this disease, even if it does die out in the north every winter. Birds flying south in the winter will be reinfected. I wish we could bring back DDT.

[aristeides]

May I surmise from your handle that that case was in Louisiana?

[wattsmag2]

DDT won't help, many strains of mosquitos are resistant. Even if we had a variation on the chemical formula, this disease will probably spread until we develop a vaccine. They've already got a tentative one that gives protection to mice.

[Rodney King]

Haven't we historicaly been able to control mosquito-borne diseases by controlling the mosquitos? It seems clear to me that our new "wetlands are our friends" would and should result in more mosquito borne diseases.

[wattsmag2]

Control yes, eradicate no. Problem is that Mosquitos breed quickly and so resistance occurs quickly. Also having birds as carriers means new outbreaks can occur anywhere. Hard to combat that without a vaccine.

[Heartlander2]

Yes, the virus overwinters in migratory birds, thus reappearing the following year.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no4/rappole.htm

[backhoe]

My regrets about your friend- I had a friend from childhood, huge strapping shrimp boat skipper, who went from perfect health to brain-dead in about 3 days- meningitis. Back in the 1970's. I think you are right to wonder about West Nile...

[RJCogburn]

FYI.

[Jzen]

Bring back DDT!!

[cajungirl]

Actually it was not in Louisiana. It was in Chicago.

[cajungirl]

Actually yellow fever was present in Louisiana in the early part of the century and was eradicated by mosquito control. And we don't have malaria anymore either compliments of the public health systems great work before they became captive to the political movements who turned them into something else.

[texasbluebell]

I read somewhere that a species of mosquito called Culex is the one this lives in, and that this species overwinters. So it's not going to die off in the cold.

[Barnacle]

I need your opinion.

My question is: If you where contemplating a small pond or water garden in your yard, how would the appearance of the West Nile virus affect your decision.

I don’t want to bias the survey, so I’ll explain further after receiving responses.

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts,

Barnacle