Cape area sees first West Nile virus case in human

The experts were expecting it to happen and said they weren't surprised when it did: The first human infection of West Nile virus in Cape Girardeau has been confirmed.

Walter Gawrych, 29, learned Thursday morning during a phone call from his doctor he had the virus.

Gawrych said he first became ill with flu-like symptoms and severe headaches about a week and a half ago. He visited a hospital emergency room three times and was treated for dehydration.

He was told that he might have spinal meningitis, so fluid was withdrawn from his spinal cord for testing. However, no one was sure what the real problem was until his blood results came back.

Now, Gawrych is being told by his doctor that he'll have to wait out the infection, as there is no curative treatment.

'Road to recovery'

"I'm making it through and am on the road to recovery," he said. "They're saying that at my age I'll be fine and just have to let my body fight its way through this."

West Nile virus can cause chills, body aches and swelling of the brain, creating severe headaches.

"Take the flu and multiply it by 100 -- that's how it feels," he said. "I felt like my head was being squeezed in a vise."

Though doctors couldn't stop his infection once it set in, Gawrych was given anti-inflammatory medicine and pain killers to make him more comfortable.

Gawrych believes he was infected from a mosquito bite because he has not had any blood transfusions. He cautioned other residents to take the West Nile virus seriously and not dismiss it as something unlikely to affect them or their families.

"People should especially keep their children inside," Gawrych said. "A little kid won't make it through this. ... The pain was unbearable. I have a little 3-year-old who I'm not going to let outside to see the light of day until the cold sets in and kills off the mosquitoes."

Dr. Christina Frazier, a Southeast Missouri State University epidemiologist and arbovirologist who specializes in mosquitoes, traps and tests the insects for viruses.

Frazier stopped trapping a few weeks ago when the city began spraying mosquito poison in those areas. On the west side of Cape Girardeau, she found a West Nile virus infection rate of 1 in 100. On the east side, the ratio was 1 in 250 mosquitoes.

"Given the rate of infection we found among the mosquitoes, I'm not surprised we have a human infection here," she said. "But in some ways, I'm almost more surprised we've only had only one. Maybe people are being careful to avoid mosquitoes and are taking the right precautions. I think perhaps this human case will be a wake-up call to a lot of people of, 'Yeah, it really is here.'"

County health department administrator Charlotte Craig said she was aware a resident had contracted the virus, but she refused to elaborate, saying she didn't consider the situation "an emergency."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160