PORT ANGELES — A possible link between the West Nile virus and a Seattle-area girl’s camping trips appears “up in the air right now,” says Stacie Neff, epidemiologist for the Clallam County Health Department.
Catie Peralez, 11, initially tested positive for the disease after being treated in the emergency room at Highline Community Hospital in Seattle for a severe headache and stiff neck.
Catie had camped at Lake Crescent, west of Port Angeles in Olympic National Park, and in Nolte State Park, about 40 miles from Seattle in southeast King County, in early August, according to her mother.
The mother said the girl suffered severe mosquito bites and became seriously ill a week later.
She has since fully recovered.
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The rest of this story appears in Wednesday’s Peninsula Daily News.