News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Local Man Dies from West Nile Virus Infection

Wikimedia Commons, JJ Harrison

By Gary Pitts

Paducah, KY – Purchase District Health Department officials believe a Paducah man died earlier this month from a suspected West Nile Virus infection. 82-year-old Cloyd Trover Jr. passed away last Wednesday after an unexplained fever led to a coma. The Department of Public Health has not yet confirmed the case, but doctors believe it is West Nile. Purchase District Health Department Director Charlie Ross says there are no signs that this is a resurfacing epidemic.

"Its our belief that its probably an isolated case. Of course it is a situation where it had been prevalent previously. There have been reported cases in animals over the last several years. There were human cases reported epithotically over the past four or five years in the state of Kentucky, but not anything that involved a death as in this occasion."

He says people should take the same precautions they would at any other time regarding mosquitoes. He says to use repellents, wear light clothing that covers the skin, and take precaution around standing water.