A San Antonio man infected with West Nile virus was hospitalized at San Antonio Military Medical Center, military officials said Wednesday, adding they also had found the mosquitoes carrying the virus in water sources at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
The patient, described only as an older man, was in stable condition late Wednesday at SAMMC, but the military is also treating a second, suspected case as an outpatient, this one a woman, said spokesman Dewey Mitchell.
“I think he is improving,” Mitchell said, of the confirmed case. “I don't know if he is totally out of the woods.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services recently issued a statewide alert, warning of a spike in West Nile cases – particularly in North Texas. Statewide, 158 people have been infected by the mosquito-borne virus, and five have died. About two-thirds of the cases were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and included two deaths.
It was unclear if civilian health officials were looking into any other potential cases. Officials with the Metropolitan Health District were unavailable for comment late Wednesday. The state health department listed only one case in Bexar County.
People get West Nile infections from mosquitoes, which in turn pick up the virus after feeding on birds and mammals. While the vast majority of cases are mild and clear on their own, West Nile can be serious and even fatal if it invades the nervous system.
Symptoms can range from fever, headache, body ache, nausea and drowsiness in the mild form, to stiff neck, visual problems, body tremors, mental confusion, memory loss and seizures in the serious form.