Preliminary positive West Nile case reported in St. Joseph

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A 24-year-old western Missouri woman with a suspected case of West Nile virus was released Thursday from a St. Joseph, Mo. hospital.

When sent home from Heartland Regional Medical Center, the Clay County woman was feeling better and "seems to be in good condition," said Dr. Scott Folk, medical director of infectious diseases at Heartland, in Buchanan County.

"She still had a bit of a headache, which she characterized as being a two on a scale of one to 10," Folk said. "When she first arrived last Saturday, it was an eight."

First non-St. Louis case

The woman's case was Missouri's first of a human West Nile infection outside the St. Louis area.

The number of human cases of West Nile virus in Illinois jumped to 26 Thursday with the addition of seven new cases confirmed by laboratory tests, Illinois Public Health Department director John R. Lumpkin announced.

The new cases are included a 37-year-old man from Jackson County.

In keeping with department policy, their names were not released.

The public health department also reported Thursday the presence of West Nile virus in three more Illinois counties, bringing to 88 the number of Illinois' 102 counties in which it has been confirmed.

So far, preliminary tests have shown that 12 people in Missouri have tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus, and one -- a 75-year-old St. Louis woman -- has died.

The Clay County woman was admitted to a hospital last Saturday with fever, chills, headache, neck pain and aching muscles -- all symptoms associated with the virus. She later was transferred to Heartland.

Folk said he believes it's likely the woman has either West Nile or St. Louis encephalitis.

Spinal fluid and blood samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which should make an exact determination of the virus in seven to 10 days.

"We're waiting to see what her test results show," Folk said Thursday.

The state and local health departments will try to pinpoint how the woman contracted the virus, said Nanci Gonder, state health department spokeswoman.

Folk said the woman told doctors that about 10 days ago while visiting a friend in Sedalia she found several red bumps, probably mosquito bites, on her body.

Symptoms of West Nile generally occur seven to 10 days after infection.

The woman said she hadn't traveled outside of Missouri "in many months," Folk said.