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But Dave Geske, La Crosse County’s mosquito control officer for 31 years, thinks about the 3-year-old girl all the time. It’s the reason he continues the all-out battle against disease-carrying mosquitoes that cause the La Crosse strain of encephalitis.
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David Geske, center talks over the daily strategy for the day.Dick Riniker photo |
“People need to remember this little girl,” Geske said. “She saved lives. Hundreds of people were spared from this trauma.”
Thirty years ago on July 18, the De Soto, Wis., girl died of encephalitis, a disease of the central nervous system caused by the bite of an Aedes triseriatus mosquito. She was the last La Crosse-area child to die of the mosquito-borne disease.
Geske said the death prompted citizens to mobilize to get rid of mosquito breeding grounds such as tires and open containers. And the La Crosse County Board authorized the development of a mosquito control program that would eventually take a multi-county approach.
“Today, this little girl’s death would be national news,” Geske said. “It was such an event in my life. This was a very nice family and a beautiful young girl who became so ill.
“What struck us was this could become the outcome of many cases,” he said. “Her death was definitely a turning point to do something about mosquito control and a wake-up call for the public.”
Dawn Lyn was one of 50 encephalitis cases in the La Crosse area in 1978 — a peak year for the disease. The average number of encephalitis cases was about 27 a year. Today, the La Crosse area averages five or six cases a year.
“Her death created enthusiasm and motivation to take the steps necessary to prevent the disease,” Geske said. “But we shouldn’t forget we’ve had some very close calls since her death.
“We’ve had a number of people affected by this disease with central nervous system problems, and other kids from Wisconsin have died of encephalitis,” he said.
During the summer of 1979, a mosquito control program was set up, and it now monitors and treats mosquitoes in 12 area counties today.
“Mosquitoes know no boundaries, and we started to take a regional, multi-county approach,” Geske said.
Most people didn’t know much about La Crosse encephalitis when Dawn Lyn contracted the disease. Neither did her parents, Gerald and Cheryl Torgerson. They had moved from Oregon, Wis., in 1977 to the family farm in a wooded area in rural De Soto.
“Nobody knew much about it, we didn’t,” Gerald Torgerson said this week.
“Looking back, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s not acceptable. It still bothers me. I think of her every day.”
A week before her death, Dawn Lyn became sick. She had a high fever and was vomiting. The Torgersons thought she had the flu, and the next day she was playing again outside.
A day later, Dawn Lyn complained her head hurt and she felt numb. Her parents took her to Gundersen Lutheran, where she was diagnosed with encephalitis.
She felt better the next day, but then she had a seizure and her condition worsened. She slipped into a coma and was hooked up to a respirator. On July 17, a brain wave scan showed no brain activity.
The Torgersons decided to take their daughter off life-supporting equipment.
“I was in disbelief that a mosquito could be this deadly,” Torgerson said.
Dawn Lyn had an older brother, Shawn, who was 8 years old at the time of her death. Today, he is married and has four children, ages 6 months, 2, 3 and 8.
“I just don’t remember much,” Shawn said.
As a child, he didn’t know what happened, except that a mosquito killed his sister. The Torgersons didn’t have any more children.
Gerald Torgerson said he picks up tires and dumps containers with water when he sees them. He said he gets upset when people use their homes as junkyards.
“We still must be vigilant about cleaning up our yards,” Torgerson said. “My daughter’s death is real.”
At the same time, Torgerson wanted to make it clear: “This happened to us, and terrible things happen to other people, too.”
The Torgersons allowed the videotaping of their daughter having convulsions when she was hospitalized. The health department uses the tape to educate medical personnel and mosquito control staff.
“Strides have been good (in mosquito control), but unfortunately you can’t control it all,” Torgerson said.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
