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After several years of monitoring West Nile infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments are documenting long-term neurological side effects in many victims.
That's what happened to a Bountiful woman who was bitten by a mosquito almost two years ago.
West Nile seems to affect different people in different ways. Some may get over the initial symptoms, but things never quite get back to normal. For Melissa Diamond, the complications have been devastating.
Melissa's foot veers to one side and at an angle. Without a shoe on the foot, it's almost impossible to walk at all because of the pain.
"After the acute illness, about six months later, my foot started to turn under, and it was kind of uncontrollable and cramping. And then I got some swelling and things. And so, for me, I'm having dystonia in my left foot now," Melissa explained.
In September 2006, Melissa and her husband, Blake, had just stepped outside to talk to a neighbor when a single mosquito infected with West Nile bit her on the leg.
In the months that followed, she found herself in and out of the hospital and in and out of rehab centers.
The neurological complications triggered by that single bite were intense. Her muscles were affected, her vision blurred; she couldn't concentrate, she couldn't speak or swallow or sing.
"After I was sick, I really didn't have any vocal range. It took a long time to get that back, and that's hard for me because I'm actually a musician. I always sang through my life. It was kind of a difficult thing to get that back," Melissa said.
"It was devastating: to see your wife without any facial expressions, sick, relying on machines to feed her," Blake said.
Melissa has had to learn to do everything over again, even how to cough. She loves biking, but because of the foot, she can't do it anymore, at least for now.
"It continues, you know, two years later. Almost two years later, to say I'm still struggling with this, with my foot. It's still painful every day, at least two hours every day where it's quite painful," Melissa said.
This has been both a physical and an emotional ordeal for Melissa. She talked to reporters today to warn others it's not worth the risk. Though you're healthy and young, a single infected mosquito can take you down.
The two critical months for West Nile are still ahead of us, so take precautions. For more information on how you can protect yourself from getting West Nile, click the related link.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
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