The Cupertino Courier
News
Cupertino resident has West Nile
By ALICIA UPANO and HUGH BIGGAR
An as-yet unidentifed Cupertino resident has West Nile virus, one of three new cases which include a 53-year-old West San Jose man. Engineer Kamlapati Khalsa began showing symptoms a month ago, according to his wife, Katie Cooney, and was diagnosed Aug. 15 at El Camino Hospital. Symptoms began as an on-again, off-again fever that Khalsa shrugged off. Then two weeks ago he broke out in a rash, followed by leg cramping, constant hiccups and a fever of 103 degrees. The rash disappeared, but the fever worsened and Khalsa was exhausted, Cooney said. (Cooney occasionally freelances for this paper.)
Khalsa's initial blood work came back normal, but Cooney became suspicious that her husband may have contracted West Nile virus after she recalled seeing a mosquito bite on his back a few weeks ago. Cooney had frequently called vector control to report dead birds in her neighborhood.
By Aug. 10, Khalsa had a stiff neck, a telltale sign of viral meningitis, which is caused by West Nile virus. He was also tested for encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. He tested negative for encephalitis and positive for West Nile virus.
While there is no medication to combat the virus once it enters the human body, sometimes individual symptoms may be treated, said Santa Clara County Vector Control resource specialist Kriss Costa. Khalsa is taking Tylenol every four hours.
Khalsa is sleeping more than 20 hours a day until the symptoms cease. Symptoms can last anywhere from one to four weeks, Costa said.
"He's gotten a lot better," said Cooney. "I think the biggest thing is just getting the fever down and trying to heal from this."
Vector control is considering ground-fogging for West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes in the West San Jose and Sunnyvale areas.
"We're mostly focused on Saratoga," Costa said. "There hasn't been as much dead bird activity in West San Jose and Sunnyvale, but we're looking over the area and watching it." As a part of that monitoring, vector control plans to install mosquito traps in West San Jose.
"If we do get positive results, we'll consider fogging," Costa said. She added Sunnyvale has not had not enough dead- bird reports to necessitate traps.
People worried about health effects from the fogging can find out the latest fogging activity by calling the district's hotline or signing up for email alerts through its website. The email service will notify all subscribers of any fogging in Santa Clara County 24 hours in advance.
Costa said the fogging used is designed for residential neighborhoods. "We use Pyrenone 25-5; it's the same product used in pet shampoo and in kids head lice treatment."
Khalsa's case is more severe than what most individuals will experience. Only 1 percent of those infected contract meningitis or paralysis or are left in a coma. Twenty percent will display feverish symptoms, and 80 percent will show no symptoms at all. The incubation period before symptoms appear can range from three to 14 days. People over 50 have a higher risk of getting a severe form of the virus.
"It's worrisome if those who may be really old or really young got it," said Cooney. "They might not be as lucky as my husband."
Individuals who do become infected will probably build up sufficient antibodies to ward off a severe infliction should they contract the virus a second time, said Sara Cody, deputy health officer in the county public health department.
The good news, she added, is that "West Nile virus is extremely preventable."
County health department guidelines include making sure to have well-fitting screen doors and windows, wearing insect repellant such as DEET while outdoors, and eliminating all standing water--even as little as an inch deep.
"It's important to wear insect repellant and to be vigilant," Costa said.
The district has also addressed large bodies of water such as backyard pools. A July 21 aerial survey showed 212 backyard pools that could be mosquito breeding grounds in Santa Clara County. Of the pools, 63 were considered high priority; a small number of pools have been tested in Cupertino but none in Sunnyvale.
District representatives have spoken to nearly 100 residents with suspicious or mosquito-breeding swimming pools about treating the water with a mosquito-killing agent, Santa Clara County Vector Control District manager Tim Mulligan said. Owners who don't want to maintain their pool may also turn the water into a fishpond full of mosquito fish, provided free from the district. These measures, along with the recent foggings, should help keep the mosquitoes down in the area.
The fogging typically follows the trail of dead birds, Costa said, and encourages residents to report any crows, ravens, magpies, jays, hawks, falcons, eagles or owls that have been dead for less than 48 hours. These birds are "reservoir hosts" that carry the virus in their blood. The district recommends residents not touch the birds with bare hands.
West Nile virus season is half over, but there is still 11/2 months of significant concern, according to Mulligan.
Last year five residents were infected during the season. But this year's combination of rainfall and hot weather triggered a bumper crop of mosquitoes, and the early onset of the virus. The West Nile virus has been found in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East before it was detected in New York City in 1999. California reported its first case in 2002.
