By DENAE BYBEE
One year ago today, BYU lost one of its alumni and avid football fans to the West Nile Virus at the age of 79, reminding Utahns that the virus is here to stay, and they need know how to protect themselves and be alert to early symptoms of the infection.
Professor Scott Gottfredson Orrock was outside on his Springville deck last summer when the family had to go indoors 'because the mosquitoes were so bad,' his daughter Susan White said.
Two weeks later, Orrock, a diabetic, began having mental confusion that his wife, Dawn, attributed to a possible blood sugar imbalance, White said. Days later, when he was hospitalized, he had a 103 degree temperature, low blood pressure, high blood sugar and marked confusion.
Four days later he died from encephalitis - inflammation of the brain.
The family received a phone call from the health department two days after Orrock passed, telling them the department was coming out to spray the yard and check the mosquito population. That was their first confirmation that he died of the virus.
According to the Utah Department of Health, Utah has had four human cases of West Nile virus this year, but no deaths. There have also been two horse infections, one wild bird, five chickens and 45 mosquitoes.
Jodee Summers, epidemiologist at Utah Department of Health, said one infected human was under 18 and had a mild form characterized by headache, body aches, a mildly stiff neck and rash and 'just felt lousy.'
Two victims were between the ages 40 and 64. One had the milder form, called West Nile fever and one had the more serious, neuroinvasive form, which affects the brain called West Nile encephalitis, according to the health department's new Weekly West Nile Virus Activity report.
Davis County officials announced Tuesday they have their first case ever. The person infected is confirmed to be between 18 and 39, officials said.
Summers said most people recover completely from the virus. Those over 65 or who have weakened immune systems are at a greater risk and get sicker if they contract the virus.
'Usually people who get West Nile, get the milder form and after a week or so they feel a bit better,' Summers said. 'Symptoms to be concerned about would be a very stiff neck and/or a severe headache that won't go away, disorientation, muscle weakness, high fever and paralysis. That's usually a sign something more serious is going on such as meningitis or encephalitis and you need to be under a physicians care. In rare cases death can occur.'
But it's not just adults that have been infected.
'For very small children, look for flu-like symptoms such as lethargy, fussiness maybe fever and a rash on the trunk, arms and legs. You can do a blood test to test for the virus,' Summers said.
Summers said the number of cases is expected to go up this year but it is difficult to predict how many.
'There's no way to tell how it's going to run its course so we just do surveillance,' Summers said.
Usually cases develop through the first part of October or until the first frost, Summers said.
For several years, the mosquito abatement districts have placed traps across the state to test for the virus, Summers said. Trapped mosquitoes are sent to the public health laboratory, ground up and the blood tested.
'We are testing in humans year round to see of anything happens,' Summers said. 'At this time last year we were about the same with the number of cases, so we do expect the number of cases to go up but it's hard to predict how many. We usually see cases through the first part of October or until the first frost.' The important message for Utahns is that the virus has been here for years now, Summers said.
'We don't want people to have to stay indoors for the summer,' she said. 'We don't encourage that at all. Just enjoy the outdoors but be sure to be protected by wearing mosquito repellent that has DEET or Picardin in it and wear long sleeves.'
DEET is the most effective repellent and works for other biting insects, Summers said. It's safe for children 2 months old on up. There are sprays now that are less sticky and smell better.
Also, remove any standing water because mosquitoes can breed in tiny amounts of water, she said. For those people with outdoor ponds, replace the water frequently or make sure a stream flows in and has an outlet. Mosquito dunks are available from the mosquito abatement district, which kill the mosquito larvae but not the decorative fish or birds that might drink out of the water.
Fox News recently reported that 122 people in 19 states have been infected with the virus and three have died so far. Last year at this time there were 34 cases nationally. Dr. Michael Osterholm, former head of the U.S. Center for Disease Control, said birds play an important role as they get infected and move the virus around the country where pets and humans can get infected.
'We are considered 'incidental hosts,' 'Osterholm said. 'It's only when the mosquito doesn't feed on a bird or animal and accidentally feeds on us that causes us to get infected, so we don't know if we're going to have a bad year or not.'
Many factors come together to determine whether we'll have a mild or severe year, Osterholm said.
'Most people don't realize there are many different kinds of mosquitoes and 70 different kinds transmit the virus to humans,' he said. 'Some do very well in drought conditions, meaning they go for stagnant water that doesn't get flushed out routinely. Others do very well in wet areas. Unfortunately, this summer we have such a combination that we have many of the different kinds of mosquitoes that are in large numbers.'
Osterholm said the second factor is if there are 'susceptible birds'. If there is a bad year where there are a high number of infected birds, they either die or become immune. So typically, that means the following year, or year after that, may not have much infection. Last year was a big year, he said. Orrock wasn't lucky enough to live through last year's heavy mosquito infestation. His wife and 11 children miss him, especially at this time of year, his daughter, White said. He loved watching BYU football games but couldn't watch them live for fear he would suffer a heart attack. He recorded the games and after he knew the outcome, he could safely watch them over and over again, White said.
'The sad thing is, the year he died, BYU became the Mountain West Conference champions and went on to win the Las Vegas bowl game,' White said. 'We think he had something to do with it anyway.'
denaebybee@byu.net