By Courtney Dentch
An 84-year-old Rosedale man remained in critical condition Tuesday after he tested positive for West Nile Virus last week, making him the first case to appear in the borough and the city this year.
The man, whose name was not released, became ill with a low-grade fever and diarrhea on July 20 and was admitted to an area hospital on July 27, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said.
The man developed encephalitis, or an inflammation of the brain, and blood tests showed the presence of the virus, the Health Department revealed last Thursday.
Spraying has been conducted in some parts of northeast Queens, but the Health Department has not sprayed the Rosedale area with pesticides, which would curb the spread of infected mosquitoes, said Mik Moore, political adviser for City Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Laurelton).
The agency does not spray the pesticides until the mosquito count reaches a certain level, which it has not in Rosedale, Moore said.
While the case marks the first appearance of the disease in the city this year, more than 250 confirmed or probable cases have been reported nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
West Nile virus was discovered for the first time in the Western Hemisphere in Queens’ Powell’s Cove in August 1999.
The disease is transmitted from infected birds to humans through mosquitoes. Less than 1 percent of people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will become severely ill, according to the CDC.
The virus thrives in mosquito pools, where the insects breed abundantly. So far this year, 15 mosquito pools have been found in Queens, and four dead birds have tested positive for the disease, the Health Department said.
The city has been spraying pesticides in certain areas to curb the spread of the disease, and College Point, Bay Terrace and Bayside were covered Saturday. No plans have been made to spray in southeast Queens, where residents are concerned the virus could spread to other mosquitoes, said state Assemblywoman Michele Titus (D-Far Rockaway).
“We need to now put Rosedale as a priority area,” she said. “We need to ensure that southeast Queens gets what it needs. Southeast Queens is always overlooked.”
Sanders had scheduled an emergency town hall meeting for Wednesday night, in conjunction with Titus and Community Board 13. The meeting was aimed at answering residents’ questions, Moore said.
“The councilman is very concerned about it,” he said. “There’s a lack of information out there about what the administration is doing to combat it.”
Twelve people have died from the West Nile virus so far this year, including one person in Illinois, one in Missouri, eight in Louisiana, and two in Mississippi. A Texas woman also died from what appeared to be the West Nile virus, but it had not been confirmed as the disease.
If the West Nile virus does develop into an infection, the virus multiplies in a person’s blood system, and once it reaches the brain, it interferes with the central nervous system, causing inflammation of brain tissue, or encephalitis. Patients can suffer from mild flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, or a skin rash, and a more sever infection could be marked by a high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, or convulsions. It takes between three and 15 days for symptoms to appear.
Among those who do become severely ill due to the virus, only about 3 to 15 percent die from the disease. Rates of infection and death are highest among elderly people.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
