With a Shandon–area man’s confirmed, serious case of West Nile Virus and the discovery of a dead bird in the area also infected with the disease, city and county officials are getting serious about taking the steps they can to contain its spread.

Chris Evans, a medical entomologist for the Department of Health and Environmental Control, said a man in his 60s, whom he would not identify, was hospitalized early last month after suffering severe flu–like symptoms.

“I don’t know what has happened to him since, but he was hospitalized in pretty bad shape,” Evans said. “A neighbor got on his bicycle and drove around and found a dead bird within a mile of the area, which also turned out to have a confirmed case of West Nile Virus.”

Since then, working with several government agencies, DHEC has put out traps in the Shandon area within a two–mile radius of the confirmed cases to collect mosquitoes for testing. WNV is transmitted by several types of mosquitoes capable of carrying and transmitting the virus up to 14 days after feeding on an infected bird.

So far, the majority of the tests have come back negative, but several results are still pending, Evans said.

In 2009, three other cases, two humans and one bird, have been diagnosed in the North Charleston area, according to Evans and the DHEC website (www.scdhec.gov).

In South Carolina in 2008, nine mosquito pools were confirmed as containing the virus, with three birds and one human diagnosed with WNV. The areas where cases were confirmed included Aiken, Berkeley, Dorchester, York, and Spartanburg. None of the reported cases last year occurred in Columbia according to the website.

Most people infected with the disease never get sick, Evans said. Others may suffer flu–like symptoms for several weeks.

“With fever, headache, nausea, sometimes a rash on the back or chest, some people describe it as the worst flu they’ve ever had,” he said. “The serious cases occur when it becomes neuro–invasive, which means it attacks the nervous system.”

Those with this strain of WNV could contract encephalitis, meningitis, or other serious respiratory diseases, he said.

According to the DHEC website, those with extreme cases could experience symptoms like “high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. Symptoms of severe disease may last several weeks, although effects on the nervous system might be permanent.”

Experts say that an estimated one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop a more severe form of the disease.

Evans said those who want to minimize their exposure to potentially infected mosquitoes should start in their own back yards.

“Survey your property and look for any kind of standing water,” he said. “That would include bird baths, saucers located under potted plants, gutters, tree cavities, and children’s toys like dump trucks.”

Eliminating these potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and wearing snug, protective clothing during dawn and dusk hours when mosquitoes are the most active will help minimize exposure.

The city of Columbia, according to a press release issued in late August, is also stepping up the fight against WNV through wide–spread spraying.

“City forces have sprayed various large areas and will continue to spray as recommended by DHEC or Richland County Vector Control,” the release said.

A cooling trend will also diminish the threat of WNV–carrying mosquitoes, according to Tammy Brewer, who is with Richand County’s Mosquito Control Department.

“When the weather gets warm in March, or sometimes even earlier, you start to get mosquitoes,” she said. “It will taper off in October, but honestly, with a warm day or two, even in winter, you could see a mosquito in Columbia.”

The public can help DHEC detect any potential new cases by reporting dead birds in the area.

“The highest mortality rate for WNV occurs in blue jays and crows, so we are asking residents to keep a particular eye out for any dead birds in the area and report them to your county agency,” Evans said.

In Richland County, that number is 803-576-2910. In addition, DHEC has a bird reporting form with instructions on its website (www.scdhec.gov).