First West Nile virus human case reported in Dallas: DCHHS

The Dallas County Health and Human Services has reported the first human case of West Nile virus in Dallas this season.

The man lives in the 75230 ZIP code and was diagnosed with West Nile Non-Neuroinvasive Disease (WNNND). The man's identity is being withheld due to patient confidentiality.

Garland Public Health Department has confirmed two additional cases of WNNND. The first case is a resident, while the second case is an international traveler who contracted the virus abroad. Both patients have recovered from the disease, according to DCHHS.

“Unfortunately, we are having to report our first West Nile Virus human case in Dallas County this season,” said Dr. Philip Huang, Director of DCHHS. “Mosquito activity and the number of positive mosquito pools have been significantly higher than in previous years. It's crucial for residents to take precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites.”

Officials reminded that includes using insect repellents with DEET or other EPA-registered repellents, dressing in long, loose and light-colored clothing outside, draining standing water and limiting time outdoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitos are most active.

For years, Leslie Martinez said she thought little of those precautions.

Then in 2016, she got a couple of mosquito bites at an outdoor baby shower and soon was overwhelmed with symptoms, that at first, couldn't be easily explained.

“I was just having a random conversation with my husband, and I stopped being able to speak. It was like I couldn’t make out the words," said Martinez.

Over the next couple of days, Martinez said she was crippled with unbearable headaches and vomiting.

Three emergency room visits filled with tests failed to result in answers.

Finally, a spinal tap showed Martinez was positive for West Nile Virus, which doctors told her caused meningitis and swelling on her brain.

They placed her into a medically induced coma and told her new husband, all they could do was wait.

"They couldn’t tell him how I was going to wake up, in what state, if I was going to have permanent brain damage because of the amount of swelling I had, or if I was going to be normal, if I was going to remember who he was or remember myself or anything that had happened," she said.

After three days, Martinez woke up, slowly recounting the details of the last week.

Seven years later, she counts herself among the lucky ones with no lingering side effects from the virus that killed three people in Dallas County that year.

Today, she does everything she can to protect her family, from treating her yard to wearing repellent.

Also, when given the chance, she shares her story to encourage others to do the same.

 “I was just like, there’s no way that a little tiny bug did this to me. It almost killed me," said Martinez.