Public Health: No active West Nile cases in Southwest Georgia

ALBANY — Officials from the Southwest Public Health District said Thursday there have been no recent reports of West Nile virus in the health district. A man who died in Dougherty County on Wednesday had been a previously suspected West Nile case, but the virus did not play a role in his death, they said.

Dr. Charles Ruis, director of the health district, said there has been no recent history of West Nile virus reported in the 14-county district and no deaths related to the illness reported in the area in the last few years.

“There has been no evidence of any active West Nile cases in the entire Southwest District,” he said.

Ruis said evidence of West Nile would typically come in the form of a laboratory blood test confirming the virus, the results of which would be reported to Public Health officials — and that he would have been notified of such a blood test.

“The state has not received any report (including the Wednesday death),” he said.

Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler said Wednesday that Malcom Roberts, 69, had West Nile, but that the doctor was not listing the virus as the cause of death because Roberts had numerous other health issues.

Fowler said Thursday his information came from the physician’s report. When asked if there had been a lab test reflected in the report, he said: “That is the only way you can diagnose it.”

“I gave them (Public Health) the person’s name, and they can run the test and do what they need to do,” Fowler said.

The coroner also said he pulled the man’s medical records, which indicated there was evidence of a West Nile test.

Jacqueline Jenkins, the epidemiologist for the health district, said Roberts was a suspected case of West Nile from 2016. She said that Public Health officials have the responsibility of confirming a West Nile case and that they want to ensure people have good information when it comes to health risks in their community.

“This is the prior case of a person who is not a Dougherty County resident,” she said. “It was a suspected case.”

Ruis explained the process for reporting such a case by saying that Georgia physicians and laboratories are required to immediately report West Nile Virus infections to the Public Health officials at the state, district or county level.

“When it comes to the reporting of notifiable diseases, Phoebe Putney’s (Memorial Hospital) practices are consistent with the requirements of the Department of Public Health,” he said. “I am confident that the hospital would have notified DPH if a patient had tested positive for an active West Nile Virus infection.

“In general, the entire local medical community works in harmony with Public Health. We have no problem obtaining required information from the Phoebe Putney staff. They are reliable.”

Ruis said the prevention efforts for West Nile are similar to those for the Zika virus, which is to avoid mosquito bites by covering bare skin, using repellent with DEET, eliminating standing water outside the home to discourage mosquito breeding, and using a chemical larvicide for standing water that cannot be tossed.

Mosquito activity peaks from June to September, but Dougherty County Environmental Control Manager Donell Mathis said Wednesday he and his crew started treating for mosquitoes earlier than normal this year because of the unseasonably warm and wet winter.

Those who are exposed to West Nile virus show symptoms about 20 percent of the time, with 80 percent of cases showing no symptoms. Those who show symptoms typically experience fever, headache, rash and body aches. Supportive care is used to treat symptoms, as there is no specific treatment for the illness.

For those with symptoms, “it is always a good idea to be evaluated by a medical professional,” Ruis said.

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