Sunnyside Woman's Death Could Be First From West Nile in Washington

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Story Published: Sep 23, 2009 at 6:27 PM PDT

By Peter Bukowski

SUNNYSIDE -- Some people who have West Nile don't even know it. For others it can be much more serious

"I had heard a little about it, we were all mildly concerned at least. I know I was at least aware of it," said Tri-Cities resident Lynn Rogers.

Now the flag at the Rogers house in Sunnyside hangs at half-staff for Lynn's mother Ruth, who died over the weekend after twice testing positive for West Nile.

"Everything seems fine, two days later she was showing signs of a fever, less than 24 hours she was at the doctor. Within 48 she was in the hospital and 16 days later she's gone."

Rogers admitted, he didn't take West Nile Virus as seriously as he should have.

"They told us right up front that they expected West Nile virus and we thought well, now we know what we're up against and yeah its bad virus and year we'd take it seriously, but she'll come out of this, she'll be alright."

I spoke with Ruth's husband, Howard Rogers off camera and he told me, as he fought back tears, he felt he owed it to his wife to tell her story in hopes it would save the life of someone else.

And Marianne Patnode at the Yakima Health District is happy to have the Rogers family coming forward to help raise awareness for this potentially deadly virus.

"This is a virus that will cause issues, it will cause complications, to people who are older, have other health problems. There's no question about that we all need to be vigilant," she explained. "This is an opportunity to say to people, this is serious. This is evidence, even though we knew it all along. And please please take preventive measures."

That is a direction the Rogers family hopes their story will convince you to follow.

Despite the conclusion of local medical staff, actual confirmation that West Nile contributed to Rogers' death must come from the state CDC office near Seattle.

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