Doctor and Family I.D. W. Nile Victim

The first Californian to die of West Nile virus was a lively former flower shop owner who enjoyed an active life despite battling illness in recent years, according to his brother and friends at a Fullerton board-and-care home.

Citing privacy laws, county health officials on Friday declined to confirm that James M. Damiano is the 57-year-old man they identified a day earlier as the first person in California to die of the mosquito-borne illness.

But Damiano’s doctor Friday confirmed he was the person who died of West Nile virus, said his brother, Joseph Damiano.

“I’m not too happy right now,” said Damiano, who called the doctor only after The Times inquired about his brother’s death on June 24. He expressed anger that the family wasn’t alerted before health officials announced the death at a news conference Thursday.

“You would think that the family would have been notified,” he said. “I sat there and read the whole [news] article not even knowing that was my brother....What if somebody was with him and got bit too?”

Residents at the Fullerton Residential Manor where James Damiano lived also expressed dismay that health officials would not tell them that a resident had fallen victim to the virus.

“Why have us all in the dark?” asked Sharlene, 63, who declined to give her last name. “We’re all sitting outside in the evenings with nothing on our arms.”

Howard Sutter, a spokesman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said Friday that it is the responsibility of the hospital and doctor to inform patients’ families about their conditions, not the health department.

He said that informing nearby residents would have little practical effect because it is impossible to say when and how the victim contracted the disease. Those who have the virus can show symptoms from three to 14 days after being infected.

Sutter said that pegging West Nile virus to this single case may give residents elsewhere a false sense of security.

“People will think, ‘Oh, this is happening over there. I don’t need to worry about it,’ ” he said. “But if you live in California, you are exposed to West Nile virus and you ought to take precautions.”

Health officials described the victim only as a 57-year-old man who had been admitted to a local hospital with symptoms of encephalitis -- swelling of the brain -- and died a week later. Tests confirmed he had West Nile virus, the officials said.

According to deaths reported to the county coroner’s office, Damiano was the only 57-year-old who died June 24.

When contacted by reporters, Joseph Damiano said he knew his brother had died of heart failure and viral encephalitis, but was never told it was because of the West Nile virus. He tried to call the county Health Care Agency, he said, but was unable to get through Friday. He finally reached the doctor who treated his brother.

Residents at the Fullerton Residential Manor had fond memories of James Damiano.

Sharlene said that in early June, Damiano complained that he had a cold. She bought him cold medicine and cough drops, but he got worse and was admitted to the hospital, she said.

Sharlene said she visited him every day until the day he died.

“He was always on the go,” she said, “a real good-hearted guy.”

Henry Leclerc, 55, another Manor resident, remembered Damiano as an energetic man despite three dialysis sessions a week.

“He was always inviting us out to eat,” Leclerc said about Damiano, who ferried his friends around in his beat-up gray Thunderbird.

The friends said Damiano loved two things: poodles and flowers. He used to own a flower shop and raised standard poodles when he lived in a trailer park just down the street.

He had to give the dogs up when he moved into the convalescent home about three years ago. The flowers, however, remained his specialty.

“Whenever somebody died, he’d go and get these flowers,” Sharlene said, “and he would make all kinds of beautiful sprays.”

James Damiano is believed to be the fifth West Nile fatality in the nation this year. Two people have died in Arizona and one each in Iowa and Texas, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State officials announced Friday that five more people have become infected with the virus in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, bringing the statewide total to 40. The new cases are not life-threatening.

The disease is transmitted from birds to humans by infected mosquitoes. Most people will not develop symptoms, health officials say, but the virus can be fatal, especially for people with weak immune systems.

The virus also has been found in 980 dead birds, 30 horses, 171 mosquito-breeding areas and 75 chickens set out by state health officials to test for the virus.

Despite the state’s first West Nile virus death being in Orange County, local officials said residents shouldn’t be concerned because the death is an isolated incident that points to no discernible pattern.

“If there was a thing that wasn’t being done that we could do, we would be doing it right now,” said Michael Hearst, a spokesman for the county’s Vector Control District. “All we can do is push the numbers [of mosquitoes] down to the numbers that are possible. We are not going to eliminate all mosquitoes.”

Hearst said the district doubled its fumigating efforts in May, spraying potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes weekly, rather than biweekly.

In Fullerton, the district identified 13 dead birds infected with West Nile virus this year, out of 43 countywide, but mosquito traps found no increase in the insect’s population, Hearst said. “We need a target.”

He said local residents must do their part by watching for standing water in their backyards and making sure door and window screens are closed and in good condition.

Fullerton Residential Manor residents said they got the message, even if not directly from county officials. Sharlene said she has emptied water from the catch basins in her flower pots and will buy insecticide as soon as possible.

Staff writers Susan Anasagasti and Regine Labossiere contributed to this report.