‘One mosquito did this to me’
St. Catharines woman dies more than two years after being infected with West Nile virus
Nora-Lee Langohr remembers her mother as an incredible person, filled with a zest for life and love for her family.
“She was very energetic,” Langohr said. “She was great. She did crazy things all the time.”
One mosquito bite took all that away from her.
Colleen Tremblay might have been enjoying a backyard pool near her St. Catharines home on about Sept. 7, 2016, when she was bitten.
Three days later, she was in a coma.
When she finally awoke nearly a month later, Tremblay was no longer able to breathe on her own and was paralysed from her neck down.
She remained hospitalized in the years that followed, depending on a respirator to keep her alive.
Langohr was at her mother’s side almost daily while she was a patient at Woolcott Wing extended care unit at Welland hospital.
“It was terrible — the breathing issue, the pain. Her body hurt all the time. There was a burning feeling in her skin and her body. It never went away,” she said.
Despite the suffering, Langohr said her mother never gave up.
Early on, her physicians believed she would recover. But eventually it became apparent that her condition was continuing to deteriorate, until she again slipped into a coma after Christmas and never woke up.
“At that point, we realized she was only suffering, and it wasn’t fair to her. Even though she wanted to fight more and she would have, it wasn’t something we wanted for her.”
Tremblay died of West Nile encephalitis on Jan. 9, after nearly two and a half years of suffering.
She was 54.
“My mom used to say all the time: ‘One mosquito did this to me. One tiny little bite on my leg took everything from me,’” Langohr said.
She said only about one per cent of people diagnosed with West Nile virus get as sick as her mother did.
“It’s very rare.”
Possibly because of the rarity, Langohr said too few people are aware of the potential severity of the virus.
“When I tell people about what happened to her, they’re surprised,” she said. “They say they’ve seen pamphlets and stuff, but they didn’t know it was so serious that someone could die from it.”
Niagara’s medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji said often people don’t even know they have West Nile virus.
About 80 per cent of people who get West Nile virus actually don’t feel any symptoms. It’s so mild that they don’t even notice they’re ill, and many of those who do get ill have very minor flu-like symptoms.”
In one in 150 cases, people infected with the virus become severely ill.
“Basically, it’s an infection involving the brain, something like meningitis or encephalitis,” Hirji said. “And then some fraction of those one in 150 could potentially die from it.”
Tremblay, who would have celebrated her 55th birthday on May 9, was one of six people diagnosed with West Nile virus in 2016, reported by Niagara’s public health department.
Hirji said there were eight cases of the virus reported in 2017, and nine people were diagnosed with it last year.
Langohr said her mother wanted to share her story with others to let people know how dangerous the virus can be. She hoped it might help prevent others from suffering as she did.
But she never had the chance. In the months since her mother died, Langohr has been sharing her mother’s story for her, as well as the impact her loss has had.
“My mom has children, grandchildren, a boyfriend, and we are all suffering because of West Nile,” she said. “It’s not just the person who is sick who suffers.”
Langohr has been urging people to make sure they use insect repellent containing DEET or icaridin, and drain any sitting water around their property where mosquitos may breed.
“I’m constantly dumping out water. I won’t leave any water out,” she said. “Those are all things that can prevent your loved one from being where my mom was.”
Hirji said there’s no treatment for West Nile virus once a person is infected.
“What’s really key to us is prevention,” he said.
“You want to prevent those mosquito bites in the first place, so you don’t have any risk of getting the infection.”
Hirji said puddles of water “can be a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.”
“You want to try and get rid of areas where water can be collecting, or if you have old tires or plastic tubs in your backyard, make sure they get drained of water so nothing can go in there.”
He also advised people to keep doors and windows closed, or ensure there are no tears or holes in window screens.
Although Niagara has seen a large amount of rain this spring which could increase the mosquito population, Hirji said it likely won’t have an impact on the spread of West Nile virus.
“Typically, we don’t see West Nile virus until the latter part of summer. It’s usually July or August before we start seeing these first mosquitoes that are carrying the virus or we get the first people infected with it,” he said.
“So, the weather later in the year is going to be a bigger concern.”