First confirmed case of West Nile Virus in San Juan County
FARMINGTON — A 67-year-old woman remains hospitalized after she was diagnosed Friday with West Nile Virus, the first confirmed case in the county this year, state health officials said.
“The woman is hospitalized with neurological symptoms which is the more severe form of West Nile Virus,” said Chris Minnick, public information officer for New Mexico Department of Heath.
This is the second confirmed case in the state this year, Minnick said.
A 47-year-old Do?a Ana County woman tested positive for the virus when she donated blood. The woman developed mild symptoms but recovered, Minnick said.
While Minnick won’t release the woman’s name or comment on the specifics of her condition, more severe cases of the disease can lead to meningitis or encephalitis, swelling and inflammation of the brain or brain tissues.
“People who are older obviously have a greater risk especially if their immune system is compromised, of developing a more severe form (of the virus),” Minnick said.
This case comes at the height of the West Nile Virus season, in August and September when hotter temperatures and increased rain falls create the perfect environment for mosquito breeding, said Earl McQuitty, county vector control supervisor.
“We are finding mosquitoes everywhere,” he said. “All of the little puddles of water sitting around the county,” following the monsoon rains create a place for the bugs to breed.
Crews are spraying more than 700 low areas, swamp sites and stagnated water throughout the county on a weekly basis, McQuitty said.
The county is averaging 200 calls per day from citizens who are having issues in their area and requesting spraying, he said.
West Nile Virus was first documented in New Mexico in 2003, when 209 — the highest number ever in the state — were reported.
The number of cases statewide has decreased steadily in the past seven years with eight reported cases in 2009, none of which occurred in San Juan County, Minnick said.
With the first reported case in the county, McQuitty said it’s “critical” to continue spraying and just as critical for the next two to three weeks to use bug spray and wear long sleeves and pants because “the mosquito situation hasn’t slacked off at all,” he said.
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