HOMELESS AT HIGH RISK FROM WEST NILE VIRUS TEAM SPREADS WORD ON AVOIDING ILLNESS.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

With concern growing about the spread of West Nile virus, advocates for the homeless have called for extra precautions for those who sleep in parks and near rivers where mosquitoes that transmit the potentially deadly illness thrive.

At the request of City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a five-member team from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has been distributing information and talking with homeless men and women camping at Hansen Dam Recreation Area in Lake View Terrace, Harbor Regional Park in San Pedro and Pioneer Park in El Monte.

``A lot of them are staying by the rivers and the water because that's where people won't complain about them. But they're putting themselves at higher risk,'' said Jenny Arevalo, a response team member.

Many of the homeless men and women are acutely aware of the virus. They've read the warning signs posted in the area and noticed a proliferation of dead birds, which carry the virus and on which the mosquitoes feed. But most refuse to leave the parks, despite the swarms of mosquitoes drawn to the standing water near the areas where they camp.

``I won't leave. I'll probably die out here,'' said Kevin Snow, 50, from his encampment tucked between the Harbor Freeway and a flood control channel.

``I am concerned about it. But worry? It doesn't do any good to worry. There's no known cure, anyway.''

Nearby, 29-year-old Gerek, who did not want to give his last name, also said he didn't want to leave.

``I stay covered up at night because we're right next to the water and it's hot during the day so (mosquitoes) just multiply. It's crazy,'' he said.

Homeless advocates are trying to get insect repellent with DEET to distribute to the homeless.

In the meantime, team members are telling those who sleep outdoors to completely cover themselves at night to avoid mosquito bites and urging them to go to the emergency room immediately if they suffer a high fever and stiff neck - signs of the potentially fatal brain infection caused by the virus.

But most of the usual self-protection advice - stay inside, wear insect repellent, check window screens - just don't apply to the homeless.

``The literature we hand out says limit hours outdoors during the early morning and evening. They're homeless. We feel like idiots handing that out,'' said Jeanette Rowe, the team's program manager.

Many of men and women living in parks or by the river struggle with drug addictions, mental illness or just don't want to seek help.

``One of the messages we try to get out is to say, look, this is one of the reasons you shouldn't be out here,'' Rowe said. ``Our whole message is to help them get out of the homeless situation, but sometimes they're not ready to get out at this moment.''

Many of the homeless already have weakened immune systems and are more likely to develop the serious brain infections associated with West Nile virus, some health officials said.

A study of West Nile virus cases in Houston, Texas, found 10 percent of the West Nile virus encephalitis cases in 2002 were homeless men and women, though the homeless represent a much lower percentage of the general population. Encephalitis is a brain infection that develops in about 1 percent of people infected with the virus.

However, the homeless are less likely to seek medical care and be diagnosed if they do develop the flu-like symptoms of the infection.

``Chronically homeless who live along the river may not be prone to seek help,'' said Jennifer Zambrano, director of case management at the Institute for Urban Research and Development. ``There's probably so many other issues they're dealing with; they probably have so many ailments they may not notice the symptoms.''

Those concerns prompted the Salt Lake Valley Health Department in Utah to pass out insect repellent and information to the homeless.

Locally, Los Angeles County Public Health officials said they deliver virus pamphlets to health clinics for the homeless, but don't have the manpower for on-the-street outreach.

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

CONFIRMED CASES

California has 52 confirmed West Nile virus cases this year, including 12 in Los Angeles County and one death from the virus in Orange County. Nearly 1,400 birds have died from the virus and nearly 600 mosquito pools in the state have tested positive.

To report dead birds, which can be an indicator of the virus, call the state hotline at [phone] or (877) WNV-BIRD.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Sarah Schlotterbeck of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority gives a homeless man an information sheet on the dangers of exposure to mosquitoes at Harbor Regional Park in San Pedro on Thursday.

(2) Gina Drummond, left, and Jeanette Rowe of LAHSA check on a homeless encampment under the 110 near the Los Angeles River in Wilmington.

(3) From left, Gina Drummond, Jeanette Rowe and Sara Schlotterbeck talk to Kevin Snow, 50, at a homeless encampment in Wilmington near the L.A. River.

Stephen Carr/Staff Photographer

Box:

CONFIRMED CASES (see text)