When Phillip Minerich returns to work, it will be a grand day.

A legitimate cause for celebration.

His recovery is almost complete. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic told him all tests are "positive." His body is healing.

His wife, Gail, has returned to her Austin Public Schools' teaching job.

The couple's son, Ben, remains close by to help his father should the need arise.

Relatives and friends reman in touch with visits, e-mails and telephone calls.

Ministers and others from Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Austin have seen their prayers -- and the Mineriches' too -- answered.

The doctors, nurses and other health care providers at Austin Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic were superb, but faith had something to do with his recovery.

Just ask Minerich. Just ask the man who survived the first confirmed case of West Nile Virus (WNV) in Mower County

Minerich is know as "Patient Zero" locally for the latest health crisis to infect its way across the nation.

The second confirmed case infected a 69-year-old Austin woman (identity unknown) and a third case has been confirmed, which has infected a Dexter man (age and identity unknown), according to health officials.

"Before this happened, I knew the West Nile Virus was affecting people out east, but wasn't aware it was something to be concerned about in Minnesota," he said.

The patient

Minerich is a development leader for new interventions at the Hormel Foods Corporation research and development division in Austin.

He holds a Ph.D and essentially researches ways to improve the safety of the food supply.

An Ohio native, he and his wife, Gail, also have a daughter, Gena, a teacher at the American International School in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where she lives with her husband, Casey Winkels, also of Austin.

Their son, Ben, recently earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and plans to move to The Netherlands to pursue a teaching career there.

Technically, Minerich was a victim of West Nile encephalitis, a viral disease that is transmitted to people and horses through the bite of an infected mosquito.

The virus is usually found in Africa and southern Europe. It was first reported in North America, during a 1999 outbreak of encephalitis in New York City.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, most people infected with WNV will have either no symptoms or a very mild illness. A small percentage of people, especially elderly patients, may develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).

Approximately 13 percent of these cases are fatal.

Since 1999, WNV has moved rapidly to 33 eastern states, eastern Ontario and the Cayman Islands.

The virus was detected in Minnesota July 23 this summer.

Two months later, Minerich contracted the virus. He was the 25th confirmed case in Minnesota.

Just a mosquito bite

"It had been sort of a dry summer, but a wet period occurred in late August spawned a new batch of mosquitoes," said Minerich from the living room of the family's new home in the Seven Springs residential development west of Austin. "I was doing some landscaping work around our new house, during the early evening hours and recall hoards of mosquitoes the week or two prior to my illness."

The flu-like symptoms he first experienced lingered. When he declined a friend's invitation to go golfing, "I knew something was wrong," said his wife, Gail.

Before long, things went from bad to worse.

As the couple recall their "summer to forget," there are personal milestones.

Waking up with a 102 degree fever, nausea and severe headache, his wife finally took him to Austin Medical Center's urgent care unit Sunday morning, Sept. 22.

A CAT scan was ordered. Spinal fluid and blood samples were taken for analysis.

Minerich's condition remained unchanged for the next four days until doctors ordered him to be transferred to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester.

"My eyes were very sensitive to the light," he said, "The pain was intense."

Lab results confirmed the presence of the virus, but the only treatments the five-person medical team (headed by Dr. Mark Liebow) could do was to treat the pain and provide fluids by IV.

According to his wife, Gail, doctors were optimistic about his recovery once the virus "ran its course."

However, "After nine days, they were still trying to get his pain down," she said. "The lights were kept off in his room and the curtains pulled to keep the room dark."

After two weeks, the headaches were still present, his eyes remained closed and the virus maintained its grip on Minerich.

He recalls going through all sorts of emotions: anxiety, frustration, anger and impatience.

His weight fell 22 pounds.

The recovery

Then, something happened.

After 12 days, therapists began a program of simple exercises and short walks to begin the recovery process.

But the recovery was slow since, Minerich said, "the virus was still in charge of my body.

"It was so frustrating," he said, "usually, when I'm sick, I'm down a day or so and then back up again. This just wouldn't let me go."

Things changed Oct. 8.

First, for the worse.

Minerich was treated for vertigo.

Then, things changed again. This time, for the better.

He ate his first solid food and it stayed down.

The next day was the first "good day" since the victim's ordeal began "The pain had subsided and my eyes were less sensitive to the light," he said. "My doctors could finally see what color they were."

There was more good news in the next 24-hour period and doctors were ready to release him from the hospital after a nearly three-week-long stay.

Doctors warned Minerich recovery would be slow; perhaps two to six months.

"They also told me to take it slow, because the virus is still in me," he said, "and they were concerned that the virus could reestablish itself if I became weak or exhausted."

Perspective

Minerich takes his late summer ordeal with the virus in stride.

"Once you have the virus, your body's defense mechanisms have to win the day," he said. "Antibiotics and other medications have no affect on the virus.

"I'm planning on returning to work Nov. 18," he said. "More than eight weeks since it all began."

Minerich and his wife, Gail, now express their profound gratitude to everyone for the cards and letters, flowers, other gifts, kind thoughts and prayers.

"The cards were really important to us," said Minerich, who said he and his wife are "very appreciative of the gestures, help and support"

It reminded both of them of the importance of family and friends.

All the attention is a little uncomfortable to the man -- especially media attention.

"Patient zero" -- a tag he does not like -- said dealing with the West Nile Virus is akin to what the survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America must be experiencing more than a year after the ultimate tragedy.

"What it taught me is that we are all in need of each other," he said.

West Nile still lingers

The latest Minnesota Department of Health statistics show 41 humans in 29 counties have been infected with the West Nile virus.

In Mower County, there are now three confirmed cases of the virus infecting humans. Also, seven horses and one bird are confirmed to have had the virus.

In all of Minnesota, the totals for horses are now 964 in 85 counties and for birds, 318 in 65 counties.

No deaths in Minnesota have been attributed to the virus.

While the advent of cold weather and the anticipated colder-still temperatures of a Minnesota winter will help eradicate all mosquitoes, Margene Gunderson issued a warning.

"We're going to have to deal with the West Nile virus all over again, when it warms up next spring and summer. They won't go away that easy," said the director of Mower County Public Health Services.

Also, Gunderson said people should not be lulled into believing that simply because it is colder the threat of the virus is gone. "New cases may be presenting themselves all the time," she said.

If there is a lesson to be learned, Gunderson said it is an old one: "that message about mosquito borne illnesses is still the same."

Also, Gunderson said Minnesotans remain at risk simply by the way it is transmitted and, therefore, prevention will be the key along with eradication of mosquito populations.

What surprised the public health care profession about the three-year explosion of the West Nile Virus across America?

She pauses to think before answering. "I think that it showed up so quickly all over the United States," she said.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com