First human case of West Nile virus reported in Lake County

Lake County health officials this week reported their first probable case of mosquito-borne West Nile virus in a person this year and are investigating a potential second case.

The first person became ill during the first week of July, officials said. The second became sick in mid-August, county officials reported.

Both exhibited neurological symptoms, they said.

Less than 1 percent of people who contract the disease become severely ill.

About 80 percent of people will have no symptoms at all and 20 twenty percent will have symptoms that may include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, rashes, swollen lymph nodes and vomiting, according to public health officials.

Since 2004, six people have been diagnosed with West Nile virus in Lake County. There has been one report of a person contracting the disease in Mendocino County this year - reported in mid-July - and none in Sonoma County. But the virus has been detected in Sonoma County mosquitoes and birds.

Lake and Mendocino counties each reported one human case last year.

So far this year, state health officials have reported 57 human cases in 13 counties. Two of them were fatal, health officials said.

Last year, there were 801 human cases reported in the state, more than half of them in Southern California. Of those, 31 were fatal.

The best protection against the virus is avoiding mosquito bites and reducing their breeding grounds by eliminating standing pools of water.

Mosquitoes can breed in small amounts of water, including in old tires and drain trays placed under potted plants.

Officials also recommend avoiding being outdoors during peak mosquito activity, dawn and dusk; using mosquito repellents and wearing protective clothing.

You can reach Staff Writer?Glenda Anderson at 462-6473?or glenda.anderson@?pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@MendoReporter

Around The Empire

LABEL

Xkxy xy k xk xk ykx k xkyyy

A head-on collision on a rural west county road late Wednesday morning trapped one person and blocked the roadway, according to the CHP.

Two cars crashed into each other at about 11:50 a.m. on Mill Station Road near Ferguson Road, west of Highway 116 between Sebastopol and Graton.

The CHP said William Cole, 66, of Sebastopol was traveling west in a gold 2004 Hyundai Sonata on Mill Station Road when he suddenly veered away from an oncoming car.

“He moved over to give some room to pass and his wheels drove onto the right side edge of the roadway,” said CHP Officer Kerri Post.

Post said Cole “over-corrected” and ended up driving directly into oncoming traffice, smashing into 56-year-old Marilyn Crew of Sebastopol, who was driving a 2010 Hyundai Elantra.

The impact caused major damage to the two cars and trapped Cole, whose legs were pinned by the crushed front end. Area emergency crews, including firefighters from Graton and Cal Fire, responded. Cole was cut free and then transported to a Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The two cars blocked the roadway for more than an hour and a half, Post said.

Cole sustained a broken ankle, lacerations to his right knee and top of his head and bruises to his left shoulder. Crew, who complained of pain in her chest, back, left wrist and head, was also taken to Memorial Hospital.

At about the same time as the Mill Station Road crash, a driver on Pleasant Hill Road ran into a pole near Mitchell Court. Sebastopol police Capt. James Conner said the crash appeared to be intentional and that injuries to the driver appeared to be minor.

Randi Rossmann

NORTH COAST

Xkxy kyx kxk xky ykx ky yxyyyy

A 46-year-old Humboldt County man was arrested Tuesday evening on assault charges that included allegedly striking a 52-year-old woman with a folding chair, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies said the woman reported that her neighbor in the southwestern Humboldt County town of Whitehorn, Gerard Majella Honzik, entered her yard in the 1100 block of Gopherville Road at about 8 a.m. Tuesday and without warning repeatedly struck her with the chair in the head and upper body, officials said.

Honzik is also accused of vandalizing the woman’s pickup truck, breaking its windshield and a mirror. He is also suspected of badly beating a male at the same residence. Sheriff’s officials said he declined to seek prosecution and did not cooperate with the investigation. The woman received medical treatment for her injuries.

No information about what motivated the attack was available Wednesday evening.

Deputies arrested Honzik at his home without incident on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism. Honzik also had an outstanding warrant from Mendocino County for an assault charge. He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and his bail was set at $30,000.

Martin Espinoza

LABEL

Xkyxky xk yxk yk xykykxyx

EA 46-year-old Humboldt County man was arrested Tuesday evening on assault charges that included allegedly striking a 52-year-old woman with a folding chair, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies said the woman reported that her neighbor in the southwestern Humboldt County town of Whitehorn, Gerard Majella Honzik, entered her yard in the 1100 block of Gopherville Road at about 8 a.m. Tuesday and without warning repeatedly struck her with the chair in the head and upper body, officials said.

Honzik is also accused of vandalizing the woman’s pickup truck, breaking its windshield and a mirror. He is also suspected of badly beating a male at the same residence. Sheriff’s officials said he declined to seek prosecution and did not cooperate with the investigation. The woman received medical treatment for her injuries.

No information about what motivated the attack was available Wednesday evening.

Deputies arrested Honzik at his home without incident on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism. Honzik also had an outstanding warrant from Mendocino County for an assault charge. He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and his bail was set at $30,000.d

Xkx Xkykyky