Virus

Horse owners in Kansas are being warned to monitor their horses for symptoms of a potentially serious disease. The warning follows an outbreak of equine herpes virus. As of May 18, a total of 14 confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Alberta, Canada. For that reason, a major team roping event has been postponed at the Kansas State Fairgrounds this weekend. “A lot of people have called and don't want to take a chance getting their horse sick,” says organizer Jeff Smith.

It's been a historically dry summer in Kansas and maybe you haven't seen or been bitten by too many mosquitoes. Doctors warn not to be fooled, West Nile virus is still a serious problem across the state. One local survivor of the deadly virus and a man that is current suffering from West Nile spoke to Eyewitness News. Galen Fruth says it's all about a positive attitude.    That's what gets this 72-year old through physical therapy at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas State High School Activities Association isn't ready to join other states in canceling sporting events despite two cases of the H1N1 virus or swine flu in the state. Executive director Gary Musselman says the association has kept in contact with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment about swine flu and will follow its lead on any action. He says KSHSAA is taking a wait and watch approach to the virus. The activities association will follow any directive the state health department has regarding schools and activities, Musselman says.

An estimated 330,000 computers worldwide, 77,000 of which are in the US, are infected wih the DNSChanger virus. According to the FBI, this virus is responsible for scamming millions of dollars away from people and on Monday the virus might keep these compuers from getting online.  The DNSChanger was first discovered five years ago, and the scammers were arrested in their home country of Estonia. The FBI says they made approximately $14 million with the virus before being caught.

When a hacker wants to give you a virus, in the past they'd usually email you a link and hope you click on it. Or they'll embed it in a suspicious looking ad or pop-up. But now that email filters are getting more advanced, fewer infected links are getting through. Now, they're taking a more proactive approach. We've gotten some calls from people who say they're getting calls at home. According to one viewer, the caller claimed to be from Microsoft and said his computer had a virus and they needed to go to a website to clean it up. Thankfully, the viewer hung up on this caller.

A warning for baby boomers-you should get tested for Hepatitis C. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says many baby boomers are infected with the virus and don't know it.  Things like drug use or a  blood transfusion could have passed the virus on.  A blood test can tell if you're infected and the CDC says testing all baby boomers could uncover 800,000 cases or more and get people on life saving drugs. Read more about it here , and if you're a baby boomer, get the test.

Latest Update: The mother of the six-year-old who died of H1N1 gives more information about her daughter's medical condition. The girl has been identified as Angelina Dennett of rural Atlanta. Her mother, Margaret Dennett, says the girl had a history of severe lung damage from recurring pneumonia and she was not ambulatory. The girl had a tracheotomy and was completely dependent on caregivers. "She would not have died if it were not for the lung disease," her mother told the Winfield Courier.

It's a virus just about everyone is carrying around.  "It just stays there and it just basically is asleep for several years," says Dr. Maurice Duggins of the Kansas University School of Medicine. When it wakes up, the shingles virus brings a red blistery rash and a lot of pain. "It feels like somebody took a cheese grater to your skin and then poured battery acid on it," says former shingles sufferer Molly Allen.  "If you get shingles it's going to be two of the most miserable weeks of your life.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas officials are issuing a new round of warnings to individuals and families as the state waits for another wave of swine flu cases. The message from officials Tuesday was that Kansans should have enough food, water and other supplies at home to last from three to five days, in case they become ill. They've already stressed commonsense steps to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, such as frequent hand-washing and staying home once symptoms occur.

The Wichita School District notified parents Tuesday afternoon another student had a confirmed case of the H1N1 virus. The student attends Anderson Elementary, has received proper medical care and has recovered from the illness.  The school notified parents via ParentLink phone messages. It plans to do so only in confirmed cases of H1N1 and not if students go home sick or have suspected cases of the disease. So far, four other cases have been confirmed at Price-Harris Communications Magnet Elementary, Coleman Middle School, North High School and at Washington Elementary.

It's a virus just about everyone is carrying around.  "It just stays there and it just basically is asleep for several years," says Dr. Maurice Duggins of the Kansas University School of Medicine. When it wakes up, the shingles virus brings a red blistery rash and a lot of pain. "It feels like somebody took a cheese grater to your skin and then poured battery acid on it," says former shingles sufferer Molly Allen.  "If you get shingles it's going to be two of the most miserable weeks of your life.

Cybertron's Bill Ramsey works with and on computers 24-7.  That's why we asked him to help us test the "Do It Yourself Virus Removal Kit. "  But even this gigabyte genius was stunned when he loaded part of the kit in his computer. "I thought it was going to be some software that I put into the system and it would clean the computer for us and it would get rid of the viruses and we would be great,” Bill said. So what is it? "It's just an instruction video.  That's all it is,” Bill said.

It claims to save you money, time and from scare tactics but does the DIY Virus Removal Kit live up to its promises. The products website says with all of the viruses out there, it's hard for your anti-virus program to keep up. The DIY Virus Removal Kit says it will help you remove the viruses on your own. Coming up tonight at ten, Melissa Scheffler tests the product with a local computer expert.  Find out Does it Work?

The FBI is warning of a new internet scam called ransomware that's capable of holding a computer hostage unless the owner pays up. Sherri Brown says her teenage son recently had a frightening message appear on his laptop screen that claimed to be from the FBI. It said he violated copyright laws by illegally viewing or distributing music, videos or software. "He was panicking.  He thought he was going to get in big trouble from the FBI," Brown said. The message locked up the computer and ordered Brown to buy what's called a Green Dot Money Pak card to unlock the device.

A Kansan has died from West Nile Virus.  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says as of noon Friday August 24, they've confirmed 19 cases of the virus. There are also 14 probable cases being reviewed.  KDHE says the case count by county is: Sedgwick-12, Douglas-1, Harvey-1, Pottowatomie-1, Reno-1, Stafford-1, Sumner-1 and Trego-1. No other details about the patients or the one death will be provided at this time.  "Sadly, someone in Kansas has died due to West Nile virus disease.

More cases of both West Nile Virus and Whooping Cough are reported in Sedgwick County. The Sedgwick County Health Department said Tuesday morning the number of Whooping Cough, or Pertussis, cases in the county now stands at 47. That was three more than Monday afternoon. The health department says, with children returning to school, that number will likely go up. County health officials note that Pertussis is preventable with a vaccine. The state requires children to receive the vaccine prior to school enrollment, but that many children are in need of a booster shot.

It's been a historically dry summer in Kansas and maybe you haven't seen or been bitten by too many mosquitoes. Doctors warn not to be fooled, West Nile virus is still a serious problem across the state. One local survivor of the deadly virus and a man that is current suffering from West Nile spoke to Eyewitness News. Galen Fruth says it's all about a positive attitude.    That's what gets this 72-year old through physical therapy at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis.

An estimated 330,000 computers worldwide, 77,000 of which are in the US, are infected wih the DNSChanger virus. According to the FBI, this virus is responsible for scamming millions of dollars away from people and on Monday the virus might keep these compuers from getting online.  The DNSChanger was first discovered five years ago, and the scammers were arrested in their home country of Estonia. The FBI says they made approximately $14 million with the virus before being caught.

A warning for baby boomers-you should get tested for Hepatitis C. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says many baby boomers are infected with the virus and don't know it.  Things like drug use or a  blood transfusion could have passed the virus on.  A blood test can tell if you're infected and the CDC says testing all baby boomers could uncover 800,000 cases or more and get people on life saving drugs. Read more about it here , and if you're a baby boomer, get the test.

When a hacker wants to give you a virus, in the past they'd usually email you a link and hope you click on it. Or they'll embed it in a suspicious looking ad or pop-up. But now that email filters are getting more advanced, fewer infected links are getting through. Now, they're taking a more proactive approach. We've gotten some calls from people who say they're getting calls at home. According to one viewer, the caller claimed to be from Microsoft and said his computer had a virus and they needed to go to a website to clean it up. Thankfully, the viewer hung up on this caller.