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  Awards Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Ctr. Boston Medical Center Boston University Brigham and Women's Hospital Broad Institute Cambridge Health Alliance Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Ctr. Children's Hospital Boston Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Grants Harvard University Joslin Diabetes Center Lahey Clinic Mass. General Hospital Mass. Health Law McLean Hospital MIT New England Baptist Hospital Personnel Moves Public Health Research Short White Coat Tufts-New England Medical Center Tufts University UMass Memorial Medical Center University of Massachusetts VA Medical Centers    A Healthy Blog Running A Hospital Nature Network Boston SciBos - Corie Lok's blog Kevin, M.D. Blog, MD Nurse at small Dr. Gwenn Is In Healthy Children blog WBUR's CommonHealth Other Globe Blogs
Elizabeth Cooney is a health reporter for the Worcester Telegram &
Gazette.
Boston Globe Health and Science staff:
Scott Allen Alice Dembner Carey Goldberg Liz Kowalczyk Stephen Smith Colin Nickerson Beth Daley Karen Weintraub, Deputy Health and Science Editor, and Gideon Gil, Health and Science Editor. Short White Coat blogger Ishani Ganguli Short White Coat blogger Jennifer Srygley  Week of:
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« On the blogs: Storrow Drive, endangered white coats | Main | Children's group building online medical records for major employer group » Monday, September 17, 20072 diagnosed with West Nile virusBy Stephen Smith, Globe Staff A 53-year-old Arlington man and a 48-year-old Worcester woman have been diagnosed with West Nile virus, the first known cases of the mosquito-borne illness contracted in Massachusetts this year, health authorities said today. Both the man and the woman became sick in August, and both are now at home recovering, said Donna Rheaume, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health. Three other people were diagnosed earlier in the summer with West Nile while in Massachusetts, but in two cases, the patients were visitors who had been infected in their home state. The third case involved a Boston man exposed to the virus while outside of Massachusetts. So far this year, nearly 1,400 cases of West Nile have been documented in the United States, with most reported from states west of the Mississippi River. In the most severe cases, West Nile virus can cause a high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one of every 150 people infected with West Nile develops severe symptoms. To avoid contact with infected mosquitoes, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health recommends limiting outdoor activities from dusk to dawn, peak biting times for mosquitoes. Otherwise, wear as much clothing as comfortable and apply insect repellent such as DEET, permethrin, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. DEET should not be used on infants under the age of 2 months and should be used in concentrations of 30 percent or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under 3 years old. Posted by Karen Weintraub at 02:51 PM
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