Silke Jasso
A North Carolina mother in Waynesville warned parents about the danger of mosquito bites after her son contracted a rare disease known as La Crosse Encephalitis. The virus, also known as LACV for short, is contracted through bite of an infected mosquito and can cause the person who was bitten to develop the severe neuro-invasive disease, affecting the nervous system. LoriAnne Surrett created a Facebook post about her 6-year-old son’s experience after being diagnosed with the severe disease after being bitten. The little man was in the intensive care unit in a hospital with severe brain swelling in Asheville, North Carolina, where his mother described her son Noah as seeming “like a zombie.”
Videos by Rare
According to his mother, Noah Surrett began to experience a severe headache before going to stay with his grandmother. The next morning, his grandmother made a phone call to 911, saying the child wasn’t acting right. Noah’s lips had turned blue and began to have seizures while the EMT was checking him. When at the hospital, the mother said he slept 99 percent of the time and was only responsive a few times a day when the medicine was wearing off or he was uncomfortable. Noah had been prescribed heavy antibiotics, seizure medication, ibuprofen, Tylenol, and morphine. Doctors told Surrett that Noah would get better once his body started to fight off the LAC virus by itself. A week later, after intensive medication, Noah was able to return home from the hospital.
[protected-iframe id=”8790492c35408f51895b119e413b5398-46934866-140821546″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D2084746811560041%26id%3D100000742280246&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”681″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border: none; overflow: hidden;” scrolling=”no”]
On average, 70 cases of LACV are reported each year in the United States. The virus (related to the West Nile Virus) is known as an ‘out of the nowhere’ virus, due to it sometimes not showing any symptoms. Yet, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), those who do show symptoms often suffer severe headaches, fever, nausea, tiredness, and vomiting. One can also develop Encephalitis, causing inflammation of the brain, leading to seizures, paralysis, and even possible coma. While everyone is susceptible to the disease, severe cases most often develop in children under the age of 16.
As if the La Crosse virus wasn’t scary enough, the incubation period for LACV can range from 5 to 15 days. Although seizures are a serious side effect, the CDC stated that less than 1 percent of cases are fatal, and most patients can see a full recovery. Specific Treatment for LACV is done on a case by case basis depending on the person and the symptoms they are experiencing. What can you do to prevent the virus? Simple, if you or anyone who know will be outside for the day, the CDC recommends you to always wear insect repellent and if possible, long sleeves, long pants, and socks to avoid any mosquito bites.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 15, 2018.
