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A week after being in critical condition at Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, with the West Nile virus, Kay Lingofelter, 56, of Warsaw, is improving and out of intensive care.
Lingofelter is Kosciusko County's first -Êand so far only - probable or confirmed human case of the virus.
According to Ray Kindle, Lingofelter's twin brother, today, she was taken out of intensive care Sunday at 4 p.m. She is now "progressing an inch a day." She's more alert but her left arm and hand are still paralyzed and her neck is very weak. "She's still fighting hard," he said.
Her physical therapy started Monday and she still has a tracheotomy to help her breathe. Lingofelter is getting exercised, Kindle said, so she can eventually get her physical therapy outside of her hospital room.
"Every day is an improvement for her," Kindle said, but she still has some improvement to go. He said his sister is getting "hundreds of cards" and enjoys them. "That's really helped."
According to state health officials, an Elkhart County person was recently identified as the sixth possible West Nile virus death in Indiana. The individual was over 60 years old. The case tested presumptively positive for West Nile virus and specimens were sent for confirmation testing to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory. Confirmation from the CDC is still pending on other probable Indiana cases. To date, there have been 158 probable or confirmed human cases in Indiana.
West Nile virus can only be transmitted to a human by a mosquito that has first bitten an infected bird. A person who is bitten by an infected mosquito may show symptoms from 3 to 15 days after the bite.
Most people who get infected have either no symptoms or mild symptoms. A few individuals will have a more severe form of the disease, encephalitis. Health officials recommend seeing a doctor if you have the following symptoms: high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, muscle weakness or paralysis, nausea, vomiting, sore joints or confusion.
To keep from getting the virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes who bite infected birds, Hoosiers are urged to protect themselves.
Daily updates on positive results for West Nile virus and a virus surveillance map are available on the State Department of Health's Web site at www.in.gov/isdh by clicking on the image in the center of the page.
The CDC Public Response Service is a toll-free national hotline answering questions from the public concerning West Nile virus. For English service, call 888-246-2675; for Spanish, call 888-246-2857. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
