West Nile's worst

DENVER -- For rancher Matt Anderson, contracting the West Nile virus has meant excruciating pain, worse than when he broke his back. Jim Diehl spent weeks in a hospital with hallucinations and severe headaches.

Mary Tilger, 32, was so ill she couldn't care for her children and missed a chance to see her cousin play in a PGA golf tournament.

"It was the highlight of my West Nile virus," she said.

While most people who come in contact with West Nile-infected mosquitoes have, at worst, a mild fever, the virus can cause meningitis, pain, hallucinations, fatigue and dizziness for those who become seriously ill.

Seventeen people have died from the illness this year according to a count released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorado and Wyoming have each recently reported two additional deaths and New Mexico reported one additional death not on the CDC's confirmed list. On the official list, Colorado leads the nation with six deaths.

Tilger likely has lifelong immunity to West Nile now, but she's not about to test her luck.

"I'm being very diligent with the kids," she said. "If you don't protect yourself and use a spray or cover up ... you can be very sick and it will totally change your life."

Another West Nile survivor is Lyle Petersen, the acting director of a CDC laboratory in Fort Collins that studies mosquito-borne viruses.

Petersen, 48, said he failed to follow his own advice to use insect repellent and believes he was bitten in July. Three days later, he developed a fever, eye pain and eventually a rash.

"You can never be too vigilant," he said.

The nation had a record 4,156 West Nile cases last year, including 284 deaths. This year isn't nearly as severe, with about 772 cases as of Friday according to the CDC, but that's small consolation to the estimated 1 percent of those bitten by an infected mosquito who become severely ill.

Anderson, 41, who lives in northeastern Colorado and is used to long days of work on the ranch, said he never felt pain like he experienced after contracting the virus.

"It's like the worst case of flu you can ever imagine," said Anderson, who has lived through knee surgeries, a broken back and a car wreck that resulted in the removal of his spleen.

"I've never been hit this hard," Anderson said. Lately, his schedule has centered around napping.

Doctors told Diehl, 40, his symptoms were particularly severe because he suffers from multiple sclerosis. The Greeley man spent three weeks in a hospital with headaches, a 106-degree fever and weakness. His speech was so slurred at times his family had trouble understanding him.

Although the pain is gone, he said he's always tired, with "no energy to do anything."

Tilger, who lives about 17 miles northwest of Denver, said she believes she was infected in mid-July. After a second visit to an emergency room, she was diagnosed with viral meningitis.

She spent a week bedridden, and her husband had to take time off from work to care for her and the children, ages 3 and 4.

The pain is gone now, but her vision hasn't returned to normal and she still has a sore neck. Some days she can't drive. Still, doctors have told her she will fully recover. "It's just an overall hung over feeling," she said.