Shiyanne Thornell loved to play dress-up and host tea parties. But she could hold her own with three older brothers, and
her spunky attitude earned her a nickname from her grandmother -- ''Pistol."
When the healthy 4-year-old from Danvers developed a stubborn fever one Saturday in late July, her father assumed she would
quickly recover. By the following Tuesday, she was dead.
Don and Joy Thornell want to know what caused the encephalitis that claimed their daughter's life so quickly. They said
doctors at Children's Hospital told them her symptoms were consistent with Eastern equine encephalitis, but tests run by the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the mosquito-borne virus proved inconclusive. A spokeswoman for Children's Hospital
referred questions about Thornell's death to the Department of Public Health.
''It may be that we never get a real answer. We have sort of resigned ourselves to that," said Joy Thornell, 34. ''But
we truly believe, according to what the doctors have told us, and the way that it presented itself to us, that it was EEE."
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is testing the girl's samples for other viruses, but the tests
are not likely to be returned until at least mid-October. While doctors agree she died of viral encephalitis, officials cannot
confirm whether the virus was mosquito-borne.
''We can't confirm that she had EEE, but that's not the same thing as to say that she didn't," said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical
director of the epidemiology program at the state Department of Public Health.
Doctors have not been able to determine what killed Shiyanne, in part because she died so quickly. Researchers tried to
examine blood serum or spinal fluid at least twice, two days apart. But Shiyanne died just three days after she started experiencing
flu-like symptoms. Her death was first reported in The Salem News.
Her parents want to make people aware of the potential risks. Infected mosquitoes have been found elsewhere in Essex County,
in Amesbury, as well as in southeastern Massachusetts.
Public health officials are considering whether to begin aerial spraying to deal with the threat of infected mosquitoes,
based on the number of cases and the severity of the threat. A 5-year-old Halifax girl and an 83-year-old Kingston man have
died of EEE and two others, including a 3-month-old Plymouth girl, have been infected. Also, a 20-year-old New Hampshire woman
died from the illness.
The mounting threat of mosquito-borne illness has prompted communities in Plymouth County to rein in outdoor activities
for youngsters and has state officials considering aerial spraying. The virus is fatal to humans in about 35 percent of cases.
Symptoms include headaches, fever, and muscle soreness.
Julie King, whose 5-year-old granddaughter Adreanna Wing, of Halifax, died of the virus Aug. 28, was also grieving. ''One
day she's a happy little girl and the next day, she's got a high fever she can't get rid of," King said.
Public health officials are urging people to avoid the outdoors at dusk when possible, seal gaps in window screens, eliminate
standing water in the yard, wear long pants and sleeves, and use bug spray to avoid bites.
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
