County Says All West Nile Cases To Be Reported

Just weeks after documenting the state’s first death from West Nile virus, the Orange County Health Care Agency has added the disease to its list of reportable conditions, officials said Friday.

“The aim is to increase the information we have about the cases that occur,” said Howard Sutter, an agency spokesman. “As additional cases are reported, we want to see where they are occurring.

The disease is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, so if we see that there are a number of cases in a particular part of the county, it may indicate that there is a mosquito problem in the area that needs to be targeted for treatment.”

The county’s action came after the June 24 death of a Fullerton man from the virus, which was first seen on the East Coast in 1999 and has spread southward and westward.

Nationwide, the West Nile virus has caused nearly 10,000 reported human infections; in 2003, more than 260 people died of it.

James M. Damiano, 57, is among six people nationwide to die from the virus so far this year, Sutter said, and the first in California.

More than 40 other cases have been reported in California this year -- a significant increase from the three cases seen last year and one the year before.

A letter signed by the county’s health officer, Dr. Mark B. Horton, and distributed to area hospitals Thursday, said physicians are required to report the disease by telephone, fax or mail within one working day of identifying it. About 8,500 copies of the letter, Sutter said, will be mailed early next week to doctors, clinics and other health care professionals.

While most reportable diseases are designated by the state, Sutter said, counties have the right to add them, although doing so “is pretty unusual.” Horton decided to add West Nile to the list, Sutter said, “as a result of discussions” following the Damiano case, which some critics charged was mishandled.

Officials acknowledged this week that they had erred in not notifying Damiano’s family that West Nile virus had caused his death before holding a news conference on the case, and said they would adopt new procedures to handle such notifications.