Yukon woman shares West Nile experience to help others
YUKON — Kristen Acosta never knew something as small as a mosquito bite could put her in the hospital.
Acosta, of Yukon, hadn’t had any significant health problems until about five years ago, when she came down with a high fever while visiting friends in Tahlequah. It felt like someone was pounding on the back of her head, to the point that she could barely walk because of the pain.
Doctors in Tahlequah did a spinal tap, but weren’t sure what was causing her symptoms. She transferred to Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, where they did another spinal tap and diagnosed meningitis caused by West Nile virus, Acosta said. Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
There’s no medication to treat West Nile virus, so the team at Mercy focused on trying to reduce her pain, which still was severe, Acosta said. She spent a week and a half in the hospital, then a few more weeks recuperating with family before she could live independently again.
“Cognitively, it just makes things overwhelming,” she said. “You can be asleep more than you’re awake.”
About 80 percent of people infected with West Nile virus experience no symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of those who do get sick have flu-like symptoms that resolve on their own, though some experienced lingering fatigue or weakness.
Less than 1 percent of people experience complications as severe as Acosta’s, such as meningitis or encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain. Those cases can cause seizures, coma or death.
Few cases last year
Last summer, the local health department collected reports of only five West Nile infections in Oklahoma County, said Phil Maytubby, director of consumer protection at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. It’s too early to speculate how this season could go, though. The risk of mosquito bites is highest if several weeks of hot and dry weather follow a heavy rain that leaves stagnant water where mosquitoes can lay their eggs, he said.
The local health department held an event Thursday afternoon to urge residents to reduce their risk of mosquito-borne diseases. The most important things to do are to use a DEET-based insect repellant, to wear long pants and sleeves while outdoors and to dump out even small amounts of standing water, Maytubby said.
“If everyone would just wear insect repellant, we might not even have to be out here” discussing prevention, he said.
While mosquitoes carry many diseases, West Nile is the primary threat in Oklahoma, Maytubby said. Horse owners can vaccinate their animals against West Nile, but there's no approved version for humans.
Acosta urged even healthy young people to learn from her experience and take precautions. She said it took her about 18 months to feel normal again after her hospitalization, and she still sees a neurologist because of lingering concerns about her memory. “I still have to see a lot of specialists,” she said. “My medical team is significantly bigger than it was before.”
For more information about preventing mosquito-borne illnesses, visit occhd.org/FightTheBite.