Jefferson County health officials Monday reported the state’s first death from complications caused by the West Nile virus this year and the county’s first in three years.
An 82-year-old woman who tested positive for the mosquito-transmitted disease died at an area hospital Friday, health officials said. They would not identify the woman.
It is the first fatal human case in Jefferson County since three people died from it three years ago, said Christine Schmidt, nursing supervisor of communicable disease control for the county’s health department.
“From 2003, the deaths that have occurred were generally in middle-aged and elderly,” Schmidt said.
It’s the peak of the West Nile season, state health officials say, and infected mosquitoes are being found in many counties along the Front Range.
“The mosquito activity has really been picking up since first part of August,” said John Pape, epidemiologist with the state public health department. “We didn’t see much activity through June, which we didn’t expect. But right now we’re in the peak of the season.”
West Nile is not always a fatal disease. As of Monday, there were 73 reported cases, including the fatal one, in Colorado for the year, Pape said. Of these, at least 15 cases have resulted in neurologic disease, a more serious form of the virus that can result in death, particularly among the elderly, Jefferson County health officials said
To date, a total of 26 states have reported 388 human cases of the virus.
In Jefferson County, there are 17 traps for mosquitoes and a subcontractor has been hired to wipe out virus-carrying mosquitoes, officials said.
“The first positive test of a mosquito for West Nile came on Aug. 10,” said Dave Volkel, a spokesman for the county’s environmental health and services. “It could be pretty widespread now.”
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com
