Colorado woman, 31, who fell sick with mosquito-borne West Nile virus that’s infecting thousands reveals she still can’t return to her job or care for her six-year-old daughter a year after infection

A working mom in Colorado lost her ability to raise her daughter and do her job after contracting a rare case of West Nile virus last year.

Lisa Montez, a 31-year-old resident of Windsor, Colorado, believes she contracted the virus about a year ago while hiking or fishing, once one of her favorite pastimes.

After falling ill and developing debilitating symptoms, the avid hiker, who enjoyed knitting, reading and spending time with her daughter, lost the ability to drive, maintain her 50-hour work week as a software developer and be an attentive mother .

West Nile, which is contracted from the bite of an infected mosquito and often goes undiagnosed, is mild about 80 percent of the time, but the virus can cause neurological damage such as brain swelling and meningitis in severe cases.

About 20 percent of people who contract the virus experience fatigue, fever, headache, joint pain, skin rashes and stomach problems.

While many people will recover from West Nile without medical treatment, some people, as in the case of Ms. Montez, will experience crippling symptoms.

Ms. Montez developed a rash on her face in addition to other usual symptoms associated with West Nile

West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease. It is not spread from person to person, but rather through bites from infected mosquitoes. The insects pick up the virus from birds, the natural reservoir for the virus

Mrs. Montez said“I had a rash, I had flu-like symptoms, but instead of getting better like most people, you feel bad for a few days, I didn’t get better.” Eventually I got worse and worse.

“We went from completely healthy and fine and normal to not at all – to the complete opposite.”

Now she does not have the energy to participate in her favorite activities and suffers from migraines, fatigue, balance problems and difficulty focusing.

Her symptoms have also robbed her of the ability to drive, as they have resulted in slower processing and reduced multitasking skills that would allow her to pay attention to the environment, other cars, speed limits, and traffic rules.

She has also reduced her workload from a strict 50-hour week to part-time hours.

Her husband Abel has had to take on many household chores and also become the primary caretaker of their six-year-old daughter Aria.

Mr. Montez said of their daughter Aria, “She just couldn’t understand why Mommy can’t play with me all of a sudden. Mom has to lie down. So she kind of got it, you know, “If mommy needs to rest, let mommy rest.”‘

West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through a bite from an infected species of mosquito, the Culex mosquito. The insects become infected with West Nile after feeding on birds, which are common hosts of the virus.

Culex mosquitoes mainly live around stagnant water sources, such as the lake Mrs. Montez lives near in northern Colorado.

The map above shows states that have detected West Nile virus from 2021 to 2022. Incidence is per 100,000 people

The public health authorities have seen an overall global increase cases in West Nile.

West Nile virus is also the most common mosquito-borne disease in the continental US, with an estimated 2,200 cases per year. And as the devastating effects of climate change continue, warmer temperatures and longer breeding seasons have helped the mosquito population in the US.

This has increased the overall risk of contracting the disease.

Despite her struggles, Ms. Montez is determined to use her experience to educate people about the West Nile and how to prevent it

She said, “Prevention is prevention, but it’s always in the back of your mind that it only takes one mosquito bite to change your life.”

‘It’s really worth spraying with mosquito repellent for two minutes before going outside. It took a whole year off my life and probably more. Two minutes is worth it.’