toledoblade.com --

One person in Toledo has been diagnosed with West Nile virus and a second is thought to have the infection, the Ohio Department of Health reported yesterday.

The two cases bring to five the number of suspected and confirmed human West Nile virus cases in Ohio.

"Lab results will have to confirm the symptoms," said Eric Zgodzinski, a health services supervisor with the Toledo-Lucas County health department.

Both patients, a 56-year-old man and a woman in her 40s, reported to local hospitals with symptoms that resemble West Nile virus. But because West Nile looks a lot like other infectious diseases - causing headaches, body aches, and fever - diagnosis can be confusing.

New cases of West Nile at this time of year are not surprising. The disease has been endemic to the area since the first outbreak in wildlife here in 2001.

"We've kind of expected this,'' Mr. Zgodzinski said. "I'm surprised it waited this long.''

Last year, the state reported 61 West Nile virus cases. In 2004, there were 12 cases. In 2002, there were more than 400 cases.

One of the Toledo victims this year lives in the Lucas County mosquito hot spot.

"That Crawford Avenue area, where there was a lot of flooding, we have found positive West Nile virus mosquitoes there every year for the last five years,'' said Lee Mitchell, the biologist for the Toledo Area Sanitary District, the tax-supported agency that works on mosquito control in Lucas County.

Shantee Creek, a small, often stagnant, generally clogged watercourse in the Crawford Avenue area, makes a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. The sanitary district finds both mosquitoes and birds in the area positive for the virus. Birds are the preferred victim of the mosquito that carries West Nile virus, Culex pipiens.

Mr. Mitchell said the entire neighborhood from Sylvania Avenue north to Alexis Road bordered by Bennett and Jackman roads, is considered a mosquito hot spot that requires regular monitoring.

But it's been bad all over when it comes to mosquitoes.

"This is going to be a record-breaking year for us,'' Mr. Mitchell said. Because of heavy rains, spending on mosquito control is way up, although he was unable to provide a dollar figure.

Ohio's first case of West Nile virus this year was diagnosed earlier this month in a Fulton County 2-year-old. The child apparently continues to recover. Two more probable West Nile cases have been diagnosed in the state, one in Wyandot County and the other in Cuyahoga County.

Michigan has had four West Nile cases thus far, including one case in a 36-year-old Muskegon County woman who died. Because the woman had other health complications, the state is awaiting test results to determine if West Nile was the cause of death.

The other three Michigan cases were in Wayne, Oakland, and Kent counties.

Contact Jenni Laidman at:
jenni@theblade.com
or 419 724-6507.

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