Star-Telegram.com | 09/13/2004 | Tarrant’s first West Nile case confirmed
Tarrant’s first West Nile case confirmed
By Mitch Mitchell
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Lab specialists have confirmed Tarrant County’s first West Nile virus case of the season in a 68-year-old Arlington woman, a county Health Department official said Monday.
Authorities received confirmatory test results from the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last week, said Vanassa Joseph, Tarrant County Public Health spokeswoman.
The woman went to Arlington Memorial Hospital on Aug. 23 complaining of a stiff neck, a headache and tremors. A blood test Aug. 26 was positive for West Nile virus.
The woman continues to recover and is expected to make a full recovery from the disease, Joseph said.
Last year, 22 human West Nile cases were reported in Tarrant County and in 2002, a 79-year-old Richland Hills man’s death was attributed to the virus.
Wait until the Cowboys find out there’s West Nile in Arlington. That’ll scotch the deal for sure. (For those not following Cowboys stadium follies, there is an attempt to pauperize the Arlington residents to pay for a new Cowboys stadium in Arlington, moving them out of “Dallas (Irving)” and into Arlington. Arlington Cowboys. Hehe.
We’ve had an incredibly wet year here, and that this is our first case of West Nile means that people are taking personal precautions seriously. Good work!
