EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. – The Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation has the most human cases of West Nile Virus than any other reservation in the South Dakota and in the country.
Eighteen cases of West Nile have been detected in Dewey County on the Cheyenne River Reservation and another two in Ziebach county, also on the reservation, according the statistics from the state office of epidemiology.
“Last year we knew it was on its way. We wanted to get the people to understand and started an education program in April of last year. It came in July,” said Randolph Runs After, the Cheyenne River Sioux health and risk management officer.
“We held public workshops and are now spraying the areas most likely to have mosquitoes. You can put information in front of people but you can’t make them read or digest it,” he said.
The Cheyenne River Reservation like most areas in the state that are hard hit with WNV is in an arid region, not usually thought of as mosquito country. But one of the two mosquitoes that carry the virus is hardy and survive winters in this climate and they are the mosquitoes that will bite birds and other animals, Runs After said.
This year the case history has reversed itself. Horses were in jeopardy last year, and this year, the number of human cases far outnumbers horse cases.
Runs After said the people took care of their horses with vaccine, which brought the number of cases down. There is no vaccine for humans at this time.
He said when people hear how it affects an animal the size of a horse they will listen.
“There are a lot of people exposed, but buying a can of repellent is the last thing they want to do. We encourage people to buy repellent for elders, who may not have the extra money,” Runs After said.
“But people are now paying attention. It’s finally sinking in. People are aware this is a lot more serious now. The whole community has to participate,” Runs After said.
The Cheyenne River Housing Authority also pitched in and funded the purchase of another fogger.The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe will also distribute repellent to communities, as they are doing on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The IHS units through the community health services are distributing repellent to people. Some spraying has also taken place on Pine Ridge and information has been broadcast on the reservation radio station.
On Pine Ridge the disease is wide spread and covers all areas of the reservation, tribal health officials said.
On some reservations the young people are informed and many return home and empty old tires and other materials that will hold water. The kids are taking it seriously, tribal officials on the reservations said.
The problem in the western reaches of South Dakota is that this time of year monsoon-type weather can occur with heavy but short-lived rains that dump water which creates standing water conditions that on the type of ground it is will not soak in fast enough, official say.
The Rosebud Reservation is preparing to spray, but the problem is the tribe does not have a certified person that can spray. An education program was started in the spring.
Runs After said he would like to have a study completed like New York did, to determine if there are many people with the anti-bodies to West Nile. For every one person that is detected with the disease there are 15 who are infected, but neither show symptoms, nor visit a clinic.
South Dakota has recorded four deaths, three in the western drier counties and there are 293 cases.
“Everybody, especially the elderly should protect themselves,” said Dr. Lon Kightlinger, state epidemiologist.
“We should be wearing long sleeves and pants, and using mosquito repellent no matter where we live in South Dakota, particularly while camping or working in the gardens, at football games and pow wows, and while hunting and fishing,” he said.
Symptoms of severe illness include headache, high fever, stiff neck, mental confusion, muscle weakness, tremors, convulsions, coma and paralysis.
