Chester County Man Has West Nile Virus
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HENDERSON, Tenn. – A Chester County man has contracted the West Nile Virus. According to health officials the man is from Henderson and after a mosquito bite he came down with the disease. He has meningitis. “You have kind of flu like symptoms, headaches, mild stuff like that and it goes away. It can move to something more serious like meningitis and those are the ones that need medical help if they have symptoms,” said Chester County Emergency Management Director Johny Farris. A friend tells us he is 80 years old and a former Chemistry teacher at Freed-Hardeman University. He is said to be very, very sick. He is in the Critical Care Unit of Jackson General Hospital. This is the first case of West Nile Virus in the Jackson area this year. There are 19 cases of West Nile Virus in Tennessee. No deaths from the disease have been reported in the state this year. West Nile Virus cases are up 40% from last week. According to the Centers for Disease Control 66 people have died this year from the disease and 1,590 people are sick from the virus. An increase in West Nile cases are expected with the Labor Day holiday approaching. The disease is spread by infected mosquitoes, who get it from infected birds. County officials do not plan on spraying at this time.
