Treatment for La Crosse is supportive care (treatment and management of the symptoms associated with the illness) and usually requires hospitalization. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found in Tennessee and reported La Crosse cases have been on the rise in Tennessee since 1997.
To diagnose this disease, blood tests are done at the time of suspected illness, then again several weeks later to confirm the diagnosis of La Crosse. It is important to consult a doctor if La Crosse Encephalitis is suspected. Confirming and reporting cases of La Crosse can reduce the risk of additional cases by targeting areas of increased concern with education on prevention.
“We have definitely seen an increase in La Crosse cases in the last several years,” said Daniel New, M.D., Infectious Disease Physician at Children’s Hospital. “We will treat a number of children throughout Knox County and the surrounding East Tennessee region this summer.”
Children’s Hospital, in conjunction with the Knox County Health Department, the East Tennessee Regional Health Department and the University of Tennessee Entomology Department, has begun its 2008 surveillance of La Crosse encephalitis. This surveillance will continue until the end of the summer.
“It is important to have surveillance studies like this one on encephalitis to help discover better treatments and earlier detection,” Dr. New said. “We hope to avoid further problems and illness associated with this outbreak by creating awareness of the disease.”
In 2007, there were 14 reported cases of La Crosse encephalitis in Tennessee. On average the U.S. reports about 70 cases of La Crosse per year, with Tennessee averaging a dozen cases annually.
West Nile virus has been in the news for the last several years, but prevention is definitely the key to fighting it,” said Daniel New, M.D., Infectious Disease Physician at Children’s Hospital. “We look for symptoms in children, but it is important to remember that less than 1 percent of mosquitoes in any areas where carrier mosquitoes have been found are actually infected with West Nile virus.”
The CDC reports that most infected people never show any signs of the illness, but about 20 percent may experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches. In a small number of cases, the virus causes sometimes fatal West Nile encephalitis or meningitis (inflammations of the brain or of the membranes around the spinal cord or brain).
There is no specific treatment for encephalitis other than supportive therapy (such as hospitalization, intravenous fluids and respiratory support) for severe cases. Antibiotics will not work because a virus, not bacteria, causes West Nile virus.
Parents can help avoid mosquito bites by applying insect repellant prior to their children going outside, and dressing children in long sleeves and long pants.
Any standing water can be a place where mosquitoes breed. Additional recommendations to help eliminate potential mosquito breeding grounds are:
• Get rid of old tires, tin cans, buckets, or any water-holding containers.
• Fill in or drain any low places in the yard; keep drains, ditches, and culverts clean of weeds and trash so water will drain properly.
• Cover trash containers.
• Repair leaky pipes and outside faucets.
• Empty wading pools once a week or store in between uses. Make sure your backyard pool is properly cared for while on vacation.
• Fill in tree rot holes and hollow stumps that hold water with sand, or concrete.
• Change water in bird baths, plant pots or drip trays at least once a week.
• Keep grass cut short and shrubbery well trimmed around the house.
• Clean out guttering so water drains properly.
For more information on La Crosse Encephalitis, contact the East Tennessee Regional Office at (865) 549-5241 or contact the Children’s Hospital Community Relations Department at (865) 541-8165.
