Records show 126 human West Nile virus infections in L.A. County so far in 2015, with two in Glendale

Health officials are urging area residents to maintain vigilance against mosquito infestation and bites after two Glendale residents contracted West Nile virus, resulting in one fatality.

“People over the age of 65 or who have immunosuppressive diseases — or anyone who doesn’t want to get West Nile — should wear mosquito repellent,” advised Laurene Mascola, chief of the Acute Communicable Disease Control unit of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Friday. “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. Meanwhile, a second Glendale resident is being treated at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s intensive-care unit after experiencing encephalitis associated with the West Nile virus, the woman’s son said Thursday.

Jennifer Lee, a 73-year-old resident of Glendale’s Sparr Heights neighborhood, was traveling with relatives to the Grand Canyon on Oct. 21 when she began experiencing a fever accompanied by tremors, said son Paul Mitchell, who lives in the Sacramento area.

Family members took her straight to USC-VHH, where she was admitted that day 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. She has since regained consciousness, but remained in the ICU as of Friday. Hospital spokeswoman Leslie Ridgeway confirmed a woman was being treated for the virus in what’s been the facility’s third case this year.

Mitchell said his mother regularly visited a community garden located at a nearby residence, but given the disease’s incubation period of three to 15 days, it is unknown exactly when or the mosquito-borne virus was contracted.

County health records indicate there have been 126 confirmed human infections in Los Angeles County this year with 11 fatalities. The California Department of Public Health reported 517 total infections statewide with 28 fatalities so far.

“This is one of our bigger years,” Mascola said, adding that this year’s infection rate has not yet eclipsed the 218 recorded countywide in 2014.

West Nile Virus originates in birds, but is carried and spread by mosquitoes primarily during summer and fall. Warm temperatures, periods of rain that leave standing water and decreased bird immunity can affect infection rates, said Kelly Middleton, director of community affairs for the Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District.

“This time of year we see a lot of human infections, and that should be a wake-up call to residents that West Nile virus is out there,” Middleton said. “People really should take avoiding mosquitoes seriously.”

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.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine