Long Beach teen hospitalized with rare West Nile virus complication; talks about a long road to recovery

EAST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A 13-year-old Long Beach boy is hospitalized after being diagnosed with a rare and devastating case of West Nile virus.

From his hospital bed at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 13-year-old Joseph Vazquez describes what he’s facing after contracting a serious complication from West Nile virus.

“My legs hurt.”

The medical term for this is transverse myelitis, caused by inflammation of the spinal cord.

Joseph said he was playing basketball with friends when he fell. He said his knees hurt. After a few days, he was still in pain. Then one night he got out of bed.

“It was the night when everyone was sleeping. I was trying to walk by myself, I fell twice and hit my back against the wall,” Joseph said.

His mother, Maria Salazar, says her son was bitten by mosquitoes on his legs and believes that is how he may have contracted the virus. These were the signs she saw early on.

“When he started developing rashes all over his body, then he fell at school,” Maria explained.

Joseph says he suffers from constant pain every day.

“Especially my legs and I get headaches from time to time.”

Dr. Jonathan Santoro is a neurologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He says: “In people with transverse myelitis or spinal cord damage, recovery can take weeks or even months. Certainly, for people with meningitis or incephalitis, this trajectory can be even longer. Some patients also end up with seizures or cognitive problems after experiencing them. »

The family has created a GoFundMe page to help cover medical costs.

Dr. Santoro recommends eliminating standing water around your property and using insect repellent outdoors to prevent mosquitoes and mosquito bites. He also noted that due to the El Niño forecast for this winter, mosquito season could last several more weeks in Southern California.