Trucks around the U.S. are spraying large amounts of insecticides, and residents are being told to stay inside to combat the outbreak of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.
What started as a mosquito bite became a months-long medical nightmare for Idaho mother Brittany Yeager.
The 30-year-old got bitten by a mosquito after leading a girl’s scout hike last summer .
“It started a day or two after we got back,” Yeager says. “I got bell’s palsy reactions, stroke-like symptoms.”
Yeager had a severe case of West Nile virus that affected her central nervous system. A year later, she is still taking 30 pills a day to control her symptoms.
“My speech was gone, my processing, like I couldn’t think straight,” Yeager says.
John Brittingham, 67, from Santa Fe, New Mexico was placed on a ventilator.
“I was in ICU for three weeks,” Brittingham tells Inside Edition.
Former chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci is also recovering from West Nile virus. The 83-year-old spent six days in the hospital after contracting the illness from a mosquito in his backyard.