West Nile cases rise in Boulder County

Todd Neff, Daily Camera

Published August 31, 2006 at midnight

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Boulder County's tally of mosquito-borne West Nile cases has increased from the first instance reported three weeks ago to 20 cases as of Tuesday, county health officials said, and two additional cases are under investigation.

Eight new cases were reported in the county Monday and Tuesday. Since the county's first case was announced Aug. 7, reports have come from the cities of Boulder, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville and Superior, as well as unincorporated Boulder County.

The majority were north and east of Boulder, from Gunbarrel through unincorporated Boulder County, officials said. The ages of the county residents confirmed with the disease range from 27 to 82 years, with a median age of 53.

Eighteen suffered from fever, but two developed the neuroinvasive diseases, meningitis and/or encephalitis that killed an 82-year-old Douglas County woman last week, state health officials reported Monday. It was the state's first West Nile death this year. Eighty West Nile cases have been reported statewide.

West Nile hit Colorado hardest in 2003, when the disease killed 63 people in Colorado and afflicted 2,947. That year, 420 cases of West Nile were confirmed in Boulder County, and seven residents died.

Heath Harmon, Boulder County Public Health epidemiologist, said the recent increase in West Nile infections does not surprise him, given the number of infected mosquitoes found in traps throughout the county in recent weeks. Of about 400 pools of mosquitoes submitted for testing this year, 81, or 16 percent, have come back positive for West Nile virus, he said.

Health officials suggest following the "four D's" to decrease your chances of getting West Nile virus:

• Use DEET-enhanced insect repellent or alternative.

• Dress in long sleeves and pants.

• Avoid the outdoors from dusk until dawn.

• Drain standing water outside your home.

"We are seeing high numbers of mosquitoes, and of those, we're seeing a significant amount infected," Harmon said. Eight birds also have tested positive for West Nile virus, county officials said.

Harmon said that mosquito counts are dropping but that West Nile will remain a threat until the first killing frost, which could be several weeks away.

"Keeping repellent next to the door - even repellent with the DEET alternative Picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus - is a good way to remember to protect yourself before you walk out that door, even if it's just to pick up the mail or turn on the sprinkler," said Helen Majzler, the county health department's clinical director.

West Nile symptoms include fever, extreme fatigue, headache and body aches. Occasionally include skin rashes and swollen lymph nodes also can be symptoms.

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