West Nile death is Utah's first of '07

A Salt Lake County senior citizen has died from complications of West Nile virus, the first Utah death attributed to the mosquito-borne illness this year, according to state and local health officials.

Although the departments don't release identifying information, health officials said the individual was older than 65 and died in the hospital.

As of last Friday, there have been 28 confirmed human cases of the virus in Utah so far this year. Last year, there were five deaths and 158 confirmed human infections, of which 53 were severe.

Although the numbers are significantly lower than they were last year, human West Nile virus cases in Utah have doubled in the past two weeks and the risk will continue until the first hard freeze, said JoDee Summers, a Utah Department of Health epidemiologist.

It's pretty typical, she said, to have a bad year, then a year with significantly fewer cases.

"We've seen that happen all over the country, but that doesn't lessen the importance of taking precautions," she said.

Those precautions include wearing long sleeves and pants, and using insect repellent that contains DEET whenever someone is out between dusk and dawn — the hours mosquitoes carrying the virus are biting.

The number of neuro-invasive cases — those with the more severe effects — which can be potentially lifelong or even lethal, has climbed recently. Although people over 65 are most vulnerable to the severe complications, anyone can be affected.

"This unfortunate death is a reminder of the seriousness of West Nile virus, especially to the elderly and those with other medical concerns," Dr. Dagmar Vitek, Salt Lake Valley Health Department deputy director, said in a department news release. "For many people, West Nile virus infections cause only mild symptoms; for others, however, the infection can be very serious."

Health officials also recommend using mosquito netting if you sleep outdoors, or in a structure with no screens, and to protect infants outdoors.

More information on the virus is available online at the SLVHD Web site, www.slvhealth.org, or the UDOH Web site at www.health.utah.gov/epi.

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