Local Man Confirmed With West Nile

An Upland resident is fighting for his life after he contracted the West Nile Virus and fell into a coma, his family and doctors said. He has emerged from the coma, but is not out of the woods.

The man contracted a neuroinvasive form of the the disease, which doctors say is the most deadly form of the virus, according to a report by KABC7 news.

Raymond Smith, 66, was bitten by a mosquito, almost two days later he began feeling very weak, his daughter said. Smith eventually fell into a coma. When and where Smith was bit by the mosquito was not revealed in the report.

"He noticed that he got bit by a mosquito and approximately a day and a half later, he became very, very weak," said Smith.

Smith says her father experienced tremors, headaches and severe diarrhea. When his temperature spiked at 104, Smith drove him to San Antonio Community Hospital, where he was admitted into the intensive care unit.

"He was just very ill and very weak," said Smith. "He couldn't stand, and every time he tried to stand, he would fall."

Infectious disease specialist Doctor Sohan Bassi says 1 percent of those infected by the virus will become seriously ill.

Smith was admitted to San Antonio Community Hospital where a blood test revealed his affliction.

Officials are calling this year the worst in West Nile Virus cases, with 87 people dead nationwide after contracting the disease, five of that tally were from California.