ST. GEORGE — A St. George man has died just nine weeks after contracting a rare form of West Nile virus from a mosquito.

Emery Matsko, 86, passed away on Oct. 13 after battling a series of symptoms and secondary illnesses after being infected with the rarest form of West Nile virus, West Nile encephalitis.

Emery Matsko’s battle with the disease required multiple hospitalizations and treatments starting nine weeks before his passing when he told his wife that “he just didn’t feel good,” Patty Matsko said.

“He was eating a piece of peach pie and then he stood up and told me he felt sick and was going to lie down,” she said.

He was taken to the hospital later that same day with a high fever and remained there for seven days while doctors ran a series of tests, diagnosing and treating him for pneumonia.

After his release, “he just got sicker and sicker,” Patty Matsko said.

Read the full article at St. George News.

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