Glendale woman stricken with West Nile virus in recovery
A 73-year-old Glendale woman stricken with West Nile Virus was recovering at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Wednesday after suffering from cranial encephalitis and disorientation brought on by an infection linked to the disease.
Jennifer Lee, a resident of the Sparr Heights neighborhood near Montrose, was traveling with relatives on Oct. 21 when she began to feel ill, according to son Paul Mitchell, who lives in the Sacramento area. She was taken to USC-VHH that day where she was admitted with flu-like symptoms.
“Then it started to evolve to where she was losing a sense of the people around her and getting disoriented,” Mitchell said. “By Monday she was unresponsive.”
A test revealed Lee carried the antigen identifying the presence of West Nile virus in her body. Mitchell said Tuesday his mother has since regained consciousness and is being moved from the hospital’s intensive-care unit after spending several days on a ventilator attached to feeding tubes.
“She’s on the path to recovery,” he said, “But it got really bad before it started getting better. It’s not about West Nile Virus right now — it’s about recovering from all the effects of what her body went through.”
USC-VHH spokeswoman Leslie Ridgeway confirmed last week a female patient was being treated for West Nile Virus in what’s been the facility’s third case this year.
Meanwhile, public health officials are warning local residents to take precautions to prevent mosquito infestation and bites as an invasive species was identified in La Cañada, and as El Niño weather patterns bring more water and potentially higher fall temperatures to area Foothills communities.
“People over the age of 65 or who have immuno-suppressive diseases — or anyone who doesn’t want to get West Nile — should wear mosquito repellent,” advised Dr. Laurene Mascola, chief of the Acute Communicable Disease Control (ACD) unit of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “No mosquito is a good mosquito.”
County health officials confirmed the death late last month of an elderly Glendale man, who’d fallen ill after being bitten by an infected mosquito. So far there have been 126 confirmed human infections in Los Angeles County this year with 11 fatalities. The California Department of Public Health reported 469 symptomatic cases statewide with 28 fatalities so far.
In August, officials with the Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District identified West Nile Virus in mosquito samples taken in near Hahamongna Watershed Park, across from La Cañada High School, in August.
Last week, the city of La Cañada Flintridge notified residents Asian tiger mosquitoes had been discovered at a property on Hillard Avenue. The aggressive daytime-biting Aedes albopictus is not a known carrier of West Nile, but poses a threat for the transmission of yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya as locals visit and return from infected countries, according to Kelly Middleton, director of community affairs for the Vector Control District.
“That risk is low, but these viruses are pretty active south of our border, so the risk increases some of this disease activity increases in other countries,” Middleton said.
In addition to mosquito-proofing yards by eliminating standing water, Mascola strongly advised the use of repellent when going outdoors.
“You wear a bike helmet. You wear a seat belt. You brush your teeth and wash your hands — it just has to become a part of your daily routine,” she said.
--
Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
