Fight the Bite; West Nile May Be Here To Stay

  • This map from the state website shows that 38 of the 56 human cases of WNV in the state during 2007 so far have occurred in Kern County, as of July 31. LaVonne Lewis, R.N. asks: Is Kern County doing enough?

    This map from the state website shows that 38 of the 56 human cases of WNV in the state during 2007 so far have occurred in Kern County, as of July 31. LaVonne Lewis, R.N. asks: Is Kern County doing enough?

Is Kern County following State of California Department of Health rules for fighting West Nile Virus (WNV)?

LaVonne Lewis tells what she discovered last week [See Opinion below], and wonders why 38 of 56 WNV cases this year are from Kern County.

Does Kern County Follow State Rules?

The state website shows the number of animals tested positive for WNV. Kern County has the highest numbers. But now they have stopped testing. Meanwhile, the two reported deaths in the state have both occurred in Kern County. —P. Hedlund, Editor

Rise in Cases of West Nile May Portend an Epidemic (NY Times) On July 26 the New York Times reported: The number of West Nile virus cases in the United States is nearly four times what it was a year ago, meaning that a large epidemic may be in store, government researchers are reporting. "It’s certainly a warning sign that we need to be extremely vigilant," Dr. Lyle Petersen, the director of the division of vector-borne infections at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday. "The worst is yet to come."

California Department of Public Health Announces Second Death from West Nile Virus Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), on July 24 announced the second death in 2007 of a Californian due to complications associated with West Nile virus (WNV). The fatality was an 85-year-old Kern County man. The first fatality, an elderly Kern County
woman, was announced on July 13.


OPINION: West Nile May Be Here To Stay
By LaVonne L. Lewis, Ph.D., R.N.

West Nile Virus is a growing problem in Kern County. Last month two elders died of the disease in this county. The State of California reports that there are 56 reported human cases of the virus and 38 of those are in Kern County. This makes us the number one county in the state dealing with this disease.

So what is being done about it? From what I have seen, not nearly enough.

On Monday, July 23 a dead bird was found on our Pine Mountain porch by my husband. He followed the recommendations of the State of California. The dead bird was reported at 3:30 p.m. Monday to www.westnile.ca.gov, the website for the California Department of Health Services.

That report was sent by fax to Kern County Environmental Health Services at 3:42 p.m. by an employee identified as Clarence (the last names of state employees are not allowed to be given to the public, he said).

Another state employee then called my husband to tell him to "bag the bird" himself and leave it outside the house. The county, he was told, "would pick it up within 24 hours." He was also told "if the bird is not picked up after three days, just discard it." Much to the dismay of our family, the bird was never picked up by Kern County to be tested.

I called the California Department of Health Services on Thursday July 26 to speak with Lakeyssia (again, we were told that last names not allowed to be given by state employees) at (877) 968-2473.

She checked the computer record to confirm that the report had been logged by the state and that Kern County Environmental Health Services was informed within 12 minutes by fax. Lakeyssia stated that the protocol requires that the animal be picked up within 24 hours. She was quite surprised that the protocol was not followed and that the bird was not picked up.

I then placed a call to Kern County Environmental Health Services and spoke with Mat Constantine at (661) 862-8700. His response was appalling. He said he felt that testing animals was "wasting resources."

Constantine said, "West Nile Virus is here—we already know that—so why test?" He said he feels the money should be used in prevention and education. He stated that there are no funds in the county to have employees driving (sometimes for a couple of hours) to pick up a dead animal. He said sometimes he has to pull people from other jobs in order to pick up a dead animal.

I replied that from an epidemiological point of view it is important to know how many animals might be infected in a given area. That information can then be used to prevent human deaths by finding and treating the source (such as standing water).

I asked him, hypothetically, if they found 35 infected dead animals in an area like Pine Mountain, would he think that would be valuable information? There was a prolonged pause on the phone.

I stated that this would be very valuable information leading to possible spraying to prevent loss of human life.

Constantine agreed, but said he feels there is just not enough money to do it. So the question arises: how many dead and infected animals are not being picked up for testing in our county?

The California Department of Health Services has since called me to apologize for this entire unfortunate situation. The supervisor (Stan) said he is going to call the county to try to seek a resolution, as the State is very concerned about the disease. Kern County seems to be having difficulty acknowledging the magnitude of this situation. The numbers speak for themselves, 38 out of 56 human cases are here in Kern County. What is it our taxes are paying for?

LaVonne L. Lewis, Ph.D., R.N. is a Psychologist and an Emergency Room and Critical Care Nurse. Her family lives in Pine Mountain.

See related breaking news story "State of Emergency Declared in Spread of West Nile Virus."

This is part of the August 03, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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