ATLANTA — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 33 states are reporting cases of the West Nile virus in humans.
The virus is transmitted by mosquitos, and in the U.S., it tends to happen more from July through October.
As of Aug. 21, there were only two reported cases in Georgia. However, on Aug. 27, the CDC updated its numbers, which included four new cases, all in metro Atlanta.
The following counties have all reported one case of the West Nile virus:
- Chatham County
- Cherokee County
- DeKalb County
- Fulton County
- Hall County
- Richmond County
This week, Anne Dillard reached out to 11Alive from her hospital bed at Emory University Hospital Midtown. Dillard said she just recently found out she contracted the West Nile virus.
"The whole thing is just completely crazy," Dillard said, adding, "I get bit by mosquitos constantly over the summer, my whole life, but I never thought a thing about it."
Dillard said a couple of weeks ago, she noticed a rash on her stomach. A few days went by and she said the rash started spreading across her body.
She decided to make an appointment at a local Urgent Care facility, which explained that it could be a number of things and advised Dillard to make an appointment with her dermatologist.
Dillard said she then started to notice things were just off. She was feeling weak and began losing her appetite.
"I felt like I probably just have COVID or the flu or something," Dillard explained. "I'm just blowing it off."
She continued to kind of shrug off the symptoms until about a week after the rash developed, she found herself helpless on her floor.
"I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, put my legs over, and they buckle underneath me," she said.
Dillard said, "I'm on the floor. I can't get up, so I scoot behind me to the door to unlock it and then call 911."
Dillard was rushed to Emory Midtown, where she explained doctors were even perplexed about what was causing her symptoms.
"They started me on a bunch of different therapies and sent off my blood to get a bunch of tests," Dillard said.
This past weekend, Dillard said her lab work came back.
"On Saturday, interestingly enough, like 10 minutes after the report about Dr. Fauci came out, the neurologist came in and said it's the West Nile virus, and I was like, 'You are kidding me, that is so bizarre,"' Dillard explained.
She's referring to the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who confirmed on Saturday he was hospitalized with the virus.
Dillard said the pain has been excruciating, and she's unable to leave her hospital bed.
"From my mid-core down, I’m practically paralyzed. I can feel it. But the muscle strength is gone. I can't sit up, stand or walk," she said.
Dillard said she hasn't traveled anywhere. She doesn't go camping and believes she contracted the virus somewhere around her condo in Midtown. She lives near the intersection of Monroe Drive and Ponce De Leon Avenue NE near the BeltLine.
She said she reached out 11Alive to make sure people take the virus seriously and use repellent when they're going outside.
"If I can do anything to prevent anyone from going through this, it's totally worth it," Dillard explained.
She believes she'll make a full recovery, but it will likely be a long road to get there -- with intense physical therapy to regain her strength to walk again.
The CDC reports across the U.S., there have been a total of 289 human cases of West Nile reported, which includes 195 cases of neuroinvasive disease.
Texas has the most reported human cases of West Nile, with 41 cases as of Tuesday.
You can learn more about the West Nile virus, including symptoms, how it's spread and ways to help prevent it here.
The latest data from the Georgia Department of Public Health states that from 2018 to 2022, 81 cases of West Nile virus were reported among Georgia residents.