SLIDELL, La. – When Katie Bihlmeyer recently returned from an out-of-state
trip, she was greeted by a message on her answering machine warning her to
spray her toddler with insect repellent before letting him go outside.
"I have a 3-year-old, and everyone's saying put insect repellent on your
babies," said Ms. Bihlmeyer, a waitress in a downtown restaurant. "I
panicked. He was already sick."
She sprayed her son and said other parents have done the same to protect
their children from mosquitoes that might be carrying the West Nile
virus, which can – but rarely does – cause a potentially deadly brain
inflammation.
An outbreak of West Nile infection among people is not drastically
altering life in this city 35 miles northeast of New Orleans or causing
panic. But some people are taking drastic steps such as excessive spraying
of children with insect repellent.
The Environmental Protection Agency says that repellents containing 15%
or less of DEET are considered "child safe" but should not be used on
hands or near eyes and mouths of young children or under their clothing.
After the children return indoors, treated skin should be washed with
soap and water and clothing removed and washed.
There have been 32 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus infection
reported in Louisiana, including one that resulted in the death of an
elderly Baton Rouge woman Monday. Twelve of the cases have been in St.
Tammany Parish, where Slidell is located.
Slidell Mayor Ben O. Morris said the city, with a population of 25,695,
is doing everything it can to educate and warn people and to get rid of
mosquitoes, including stepping up aerial spraying and clearing out large
ditches.
"People are worried about the virus, but I don't think it has really hit
home yet," he said. "We are surrounded by water, bayous, ditches and
anything that holds water attracts mosquitoes. We're below sea level in
some places, and drainage is a major problem here. Draining water
downhill doesn't work if there is no hill."
Some tips on reducing the risk of being
infected by the West Nile virus:
• Stay indoors at dawn,
dusk and in the early evening.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts
and long pants when outdoors.
• Spray clothing with
repellents containing permethrin or DEET because mosquitoes
may bite through thin clothing.
• Install or repair window
and door screens so mosquitoes can't get in.
• Remove
standing water from around your house.
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People are being urged to wear long sleeves and long pants, but that's a
problem this time of year when the mercury is topping off in the 90s every
day.
"You can risk getting the virus, or die of heat stroke," Mr. Morris
said. "The mosquito control folks are working late into the night every
night. Apparently the spraying is working. I haven't seen many
mosquitoes lately."
Gov. Mike Foster said Thursday that he will declare a state of emergency
to try to get federal money to help parishes which are using up their
money for mosquito spraying far faster than usual.
Pilots working overtime
At the Slidell airport, Wayne Fisher and Charlie Porter look like they
could use a nap. The pilots work for the St. Tammany Mosquito Abatement
District No. 2.
Since the health officials confirmed the first human case of West Nile
virus infection in the parish in mid-June, Mr. Fisher said, he and Mr.
Porter have been working nonstop and spraying from 8 to 11:30 p.m., six
nights a week, taking only Sundays off.
"We're just trying to keep the mosquito population down. That's all we
can do," Mr. Porter said.
They increased the concentrations of the chemical "adulticide" Dibrom in
recent weeks and are using 500 to 600 gallons a night, up from 180
gallons before the outbreak was announced.
They use global positioning satellite technology and computers to draw
aerial maps of the city to ensure covering the populated area. They fly
patterns at 200 feet above ground, avoiding marshes for fear of
environmental side effects.
They call the chemical an "adulticide" because it kills adult mosquitoes
on contact. "Larvaecides" can be used to kill mosquito larvae after the
eggs hatch, and that is sometimes used in the septic ditches that were
dug in older subdivisions before the installation of modern sanitary
sewers.
The ditches, Mr. Porter said, is where most of the Southern house
mosquitoes breed and hatch.
State epidemiologist Raoult Ratard said only one of every 200 to 300
people infected with the virus will become seriously ill.
Officials say that between 80 percent and 93 percent of infected people
won't have any symptoms, and most of the others will have only flu-like
symptoms, including fever, headaches and a stiff neck.
More severe infections may cause headaches, high fever, disorientation,
comas, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, paralysis and, in rare
cases, death.
The virus, first detected in the United States in New York in 1999, is
transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, which get the virus from birds.
More than 80 species are known to carry West Nile, but it is causing the
highest death toll among crows and blue jays.
Most of those people infected are recovering at home from the fevers,
chills and aches caused by the virus, but doctors said West Nile pushed
an 83-year-old East Baton Rouge woman suffering from leukemia "over the
edge" Monday. It was the first death in Louisiana from West Nile.
The state health department is working to determine whether West Nile is
the cause of two other deaths, officials said. Experts from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are focusing on Slidell in
conducting a study of the Louisiana outbreak.
"While the chances of humans becoming infected is extremely low,
residents, especially those in areas where the disease is present,
should heed the necessary precautions," Mr. Ratard said.
Backyard bite
Dr. Robert Goldstein believes he got the mosquito bite that gave him the
West Nile virus right after he moved to Slidell.
"I was just sitting on the swing in the back yard," the 34-year-old
Slidell resident said.
That was either June 30 or July 1. By July 5, Dr. Goldstein said, "I had
muscle aches and chills."
He also had a red rash that covered him from head to toe. A
dermatologist couldn't determine its cause, but Dr. Goldstein, who is in
the preventive medicine department at the Tulane School of Medicine,
suspected the West Nile virus.
Last week, doctors confirmed his suspicions. He hasn't had any symptoms
for about a month.
Dr. Goldstein, who now has lifetime immunity to West Nile because of his
exposure, said he still plays it safe during the hours around dawn and
dusk, when mosquitoes are out in full force.
"I'm not outside at those times now," he said.
Glynn Wilson is a free-lance writer based in New Orleans. Staff
writer Sherry Jacobson in Dallas and The Associated Press contributed to
this report.
