West Nile survivor urges caution after cases detected in Kent, Ottawa counties

By Julie Dunmire

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    GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WXMI) — West Nile Virus has popped up in West Michigan. Thursday, two human cases were confirmed in Ottawa County and one in Kent County.

All three people are hospitalized.

FOX 17 caught up with a survivor of West Nile Virus, who’s sharing his story in the hopes it helps someone else.

If you’re headed outside, you need to remember things like bug spray containing Deet and long sleeves, especially this time of year. No one knows quite how important that is quite like Alan Walczak.

This picture was taken just before the diagnosis that changed his life forever.

“I didn’t know anything about it and I never really took any precautions,” West Nile survivor Alan Walczak said.

West Nile Virus were words Walczak never expected to hear from a doctor’s mouth— also, the reason he now is in a wheelchair.

“I never really thought much about it. Mosquitoes were always just a nuisance, and who gets malaria up here, right? But I never thought about West Nile, until I got it. And then began to learn an awful lot about it,” Walczak said.

Walczak is sharing his story so others know what’s possible in the most extreme cases of West Nile, urging others to take precautions like using bug spray and wearing long-sleeved, light-colored clothing.

“One out of every 150 people who get West Nile get it as serious as I got it,” Walczak said.

Though it’s unlikely for a case of West Nile to end up as severe as Walczak’s, the odds still aren’t zero. In fact, two people in Ottawa County and one in Kent County were diagnosed recently. That’s not surprising to Trinity Health Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Jameson.

“To be frank, it fits really well with what I’m seeing clinically,” Dr. Jameson said. “I’ve actually treated three patients with pretty severe West Nile in the last few weeks myself.”

Symptoms of West Nile Virus are typically flu-like, but in the worst case scenario they can cause paralysis, like what Alan experienced. When he was first diagnosed six years ago, he could only move his right arm. Thanks to therapy and a supportive community around him, life has dramatically improved since then.

“I never would have thought in a million years something like that would happen. But obviously, it does,” Walczak said.

He says these recent cases should be a reminder to everyone what’s possible.

“Even though your odds are in your favor, some people still get impacted by this seriously. So it is important for people to understand to take some precautions because there’s nothing you can do for it. The only thing you can do is try to prevent it,” Walczak said.

West Nile Virus statistically impacts people 60 years of age and older most dramatically, according to Dr. Jameson.

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