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• June 13, 2005: Surgical tools washed in hydraulic fluid, not detergent
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• PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH
• June 8, 2005: Montgomery County man sues maker of Viagra
• St. Louis encephalitis turns up near downtown
• Ovary transplant helps infertile woman give birth
• Battle with mental illness often begins in childhood
• Mosquitoes with St. Louis encephalitis return to Houston
• June 7, 2005: UTMB scientists find West Nile mosquitoes infect each other
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• June 5, 2005: Monkey vaccine a step toward Ebola prevention in humans
• June 4, 2005: CDC weighs in again: Extra pounds not OK
• June 3, 2005: Children's Tylenol recalled over labeling
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• June 1, 2005: Baylor's interim chief hopes to heal the wounds

St. Louis encephalitis found here

A mosquito tests positive for disease south of downtown

St. Louis encephalitis, a mosquito-borne virus largely forgotten in the wake of West Nile, is back.

Harris County's Mosquito Control Division announced Tuesday that it has found a mosquito that tested positive for St. Louis encephalitis — the first time since 2003. The virus was found just south of downtown Houston, at the intersection of Hutchins and McIlhenny.

Before the emergence of West Nile virus in 2002, this disease was the primary motivation for public health mosquito spraying in Harris County. But St. Louis encephalitis' re-emergence is nothing to panic about, said Rudy Bueno, director of the county's mosquito control efforts.

"It's cyclical, and that's just the nature of the beast," Bueno said.

In 2003, there were three human cases of St. Louis encephalitis in Harris County. The majority of St. Louis infections result in mild illness, but 3 to 30 percent of victims develop aseptic meningitis or encephalitis.

The disease, the most common form of viral encephalitis, is most fatal to the elderly.

Since 1964, when the disease first emerged in the United States, there have been 4,478 reported human cases of St. Louis encephalitis, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Also Tuesday, the Mosquito Control Division found a second mosquito infected with West Nile virus in north Harris County, at the intersection of Anvil and Rolling Creek drives.

The first infected mosquito was found in northeast Houston last month.

Bueno said the timing of these finds is typical for Houston.

In response to the confirmation of these diseases, the Mosquito Control Division's evening spray operation will continue in the affected and surrounding areas. Evening spray operations occur Sunday through Thursday, beginning at dusk.

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