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First local human case of West

Friday, September 10, 2004 2:25 PM PDT

Nile confirmed

Andrew Cutler Argus Observer

ONTARIO

The West Nile virus continues to make a series of "firsts" in the state of Oregon.

A Vale teenager tested positive for a case of the disease Thursday, becoming the first human case to be reported in the state.


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The positive test report came back to the Oregon Department of Human Services Thursday afternoon.

Penny Walters, who is an administrator with the Malheur County Health Department, said the teenager presented all the classic symptoms of West Nile.

"It was a younger person here in Malheur County, who showed up with some symptoms toward the end of August," Walters said. "Basically he had all the real symptoms of what we would see with the West Nile: headache, high fever, neck stiffness, rash, and because of the fact we have had the birds and horses, and it looked like classic symptoms, they went ahead and tested him. We got the confirmation back yesterday that it was positive. He is doing well, and is back in school."

Walters said the results took a couple of weeks to be confirmed.

"They got the preliminary positive results back like on Wednesday," she said. "A preliminary positive just says it is some type of encephalitis, we have to go through the public health lab to differentiate between other things that could cause meningitis. But this is West Nile virus."

Walters added other Malheur County residents have been tested for West Nile.

"There have been a lot of people in the county that are going to the physicians with symptoms of various things," Walters said. "Physicians are screening and testing, but this is the only confirmed case that we have had so far."

Until Thursday's test results, the only confirmed Oregon cases of West Nile virus had been in birds and horses.

In mid-August, a dead crow in Malheur County was the first to be diagnosed. Since then, birds and horses have tested positive on both sides of the Cascades. A crow from the Sheldon area in Lane County tested positive for West Nile on Thursday.

West Nile virus is a potentially deadly disease that is carried to humans, birds and animals by infected mosquitoes. Migrating birds, such as ravens, crows and jays, play a major role in spreading the disease. The disease is commonly found in Asia and the European Mediterranean, but the virus began showing up in the United States in New York in 1999. The disease has continued to spread across the country.

Mild symptoms of the virus include fever, headache and body aches, often with skin rash and swollen lymph glands. The more severe infections may be marked by headache, high fever, sore throat, backache, muscle aches, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. The virus interferes with normal central nervous system functioning and causes inflammation of brain tissue.

The West Nile virus was also confirmed Thursday in two Idaho residents from Elmore and Gooding counties, while a crow in Ada County also has tested positive for the virus. These are the first people in Idaho to be reported with the virus in 2004, and the first evidence of West Nile in Ada County, Idaho's most populous county.

The news of the positive test did not come as a surprise to Malheur County Sheriff Andy Bentz.

"It's a continuation of the result of the West Nile showing up here," Bentz said.

Jacque Walker, who is the Preventative Health Manager for the Southwestern District Health Department in Caldwell, said the majority of people that contract the West Nile virus never know it.

"Nearly 80 percent of the people that get it have no symptoms at all. They don't even know they have it," Walker, who is a registered nurse, said. "About 19 percent have mild flu-like symptoms. You don't feel sick enough to go to the doctor, you just feel crummy."

According to a Oregon Department of Human Services worksheet, one in 150 people severely affected by the virus will die. Fatality rates are highest in the elderly. There are no drugs or vaccines to treat West Nile in humans, but there is some progress.

Lori Boston, who is a public information officer for the Southwestern District Health Department in Caldwell, said steps can be taken to lower the risks.

"If people can avoid being outside if at all possible, at dawn and dusk, when the mosquitoes are especially active," Boston said. "Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts outdoors. Use mosquito repellent. Those can all help to lower the risk."

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Comment Blog - Note: All Comments Subject To Approval

No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:

" Islam is a woman-hating, human-enslaving ideology that should NOT be taught in our public schools. It's obvious the Saudis and the rest of the Muslim fanatics who are trying to take over the world have bought off the State of Oregon. Expect lawsuits.

And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.

Disgusting. "

anonymous wrote on Aug 10, 2009 2:19 AM:

" The girl was Latasha Rodriguez "

Cody W. Ables wrote on May 16, 2008 11:04 PM:

" May 16, 2008

Here is something that we should all read. This is a letter from an angry woman in New Jersey regarding the War in Iraq and all of the war’s negative publicity. Pay attention.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three-thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means quit reading. Should you choose to do so, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add

'If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.' Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.'

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
Important for us all!!!!
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM. AMEN!’

I hope you take this woman’s viewpoint into consideration. It closely parallels my own. As I begin my journey in becoming a soldier of the greatest country in the world, hearing this woman’s words sets my heart at ease. It is warming to know that there are people in this great country who still care about those men and women who have no choice.

Cody W. Ables
U.S. Air Force Academy 2012
"

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First local human case of West