West Nile survivors 'hit hard'

DENVER — For rancher Matt Anderson, contracting the West Nile virus has meant excruciating pain, worse than when he broke his back. Jim Diehl spent weeks in a hospital with hallucinations and severe headaches.

Mary Tilger, 32, was so ill she couldn't care for her children and missed a chance to see her cousin play in a PGA golf tournament.

"It was the highlight of my West Nile virus," she said.

While most people who come in contact with West Nile-infected mosquitos have, at worst, a mild fever, the virus can cause meningitis, pain, hallucinations, fatigue and dizziness for those who become seriously ill.

Seventeen people have died from the illness this year according to a count released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorado and Wyoming have each recently reported two additional deaths and New Mexico reported one additional death not on the CDC's confirmed list.

Tilger likely has lifelong immunity to West Nile now, but she's not about to test her luck.

"I'm being very diligent with the kids," she said. "If you don't protect yourself and use a spray or cover up . . . you can be very sick, and it will totally change your life."

Another West Nile survivor is Lyle Petersen, the acting director of a CDC laboratory in Fort Collins that studies mosquito-borne viruses.

Petersen, 48, said he failed to follow his own advice to use insect repellent and believes he was bitten in July. Three days later, he developed a fever, eye pain and eventually a rash.

"You can never be too vigilant," he said.

The nation had a record 4,156 West Nile cases last year, including 284 deaths. This year isn't nearly as severe, with about 772 cases as of Friday according to the CDC, but that's small consolation to the estimated 1 percent of those bitten by an infected mosquito who become severely ill.

Anderson, 41, who lives in northeastern Colorado and is used to long days of work on the ranch, said he never felt pain like he experienced after contracting the virus.

"I've never been hit this hard," he said.

"It's like the worst case of flu you can ever imagine," said Anderson, who has lived through knee surgeries, a broken back and a car wreck that resulted in the removal of his spleen.

"I've never been hit this hard," Anderson said. Lately, his schedule has centered around napping.