An 87-year-old northwest Fresno man who survived Hurricane Katrina three years ago has died of complications from West Nile virus, marking the first human fatality in Fresno County this year from the mosquito-borne disease.
John Michael Gallagher was admitted to Saint Agnes Medical Center on Oct. 12 with a fever, chills and stomach pain, said his daughter, Marilyn Sanders of Fresno. He died in the hospital Thursday.
It's ironic, Sanders said, that her father apparently contracted West Nile virus in Fresno, after growing up in Louisiana where the disease is more common.
"Knowing my dad, he'd want to say people should take precautions. They should use mosquito repellent," Sanders said.
Gallagher and his wife, Evelyn, were living in Waveland, Miss., when Katrina hit in 2005. Their home was heavily damaged. They moved to Fresno afterward. Gallagher's death comes near the end of a West Nile season that has been fairly mild, county health and mosquito-control officials said.
Fresno County has reported only three infections in people this year, including the one death. In 2007, the county had 17 cases and one death. Statewide, there have been 369 cases and 10 deaths this year, compared with 380 cases and 21 deaths statewide last year.
Gallagher's death "is a reminder that we still have West Nile around, and it can still cause harm to someone," said David Luchini, division manager of community health at the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
Luchini said health officials waited until Tuesday to announce the death so family could be notified and laboratory results could be verified.
Health officials did not know when Gallagher was infected, but tests confirmed the infection was recent, Luchini said.
Sanders said her father left a family gathering Oct. 10 feeling ill.
Sanders described her father as an energetic man. He volunteered at the American Cancer Society's Discovery Shop four days a week and took his dog, Greta, for daily walks. His wife died in December 2007.
West Nile virus often mimics influenza, with fevers, body aches and eye pain. It can be fatal, but fewer than 1% of those infected become ill, and about 80% have no symptoms, according to the California Department of Public Health.
People become infected when mosquitoes carrying the virus bite. The mosquitoes also infect birds and horses, as well as other animals.
Health investigators believe Gallagher was infected in his northwest neighborhood where he took walks for exercise. But no mosquitoes from that area of Fresno have tested positive for the virus, said David Farley, manager of the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District. There also were no dead birds infected by the virus found to indicate the virus was present, he said.
"West Nile is really weird this year," Farley said. "It started really late. It wasn't until September until we started getting much in the way of mosquitoes. Usually it's July that we have the problem."
Mosquitoes now are seeking warmth inside homes, Luchini said. People should check cracks in screens and other entry points, he said.
Mosquitoes are less likely to bite in the late fall, Farley said. "They bite to get blood for their eggs to develop, and this time of year they're just trying to make it through the winter."
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