{"id":474562,"date":"2026-09-24T21:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T21:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/474562\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T21:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T21:10:12","slug":"anaheim-father-dies-from-west-nile-virus-as-socal-detections-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/474562\/","title":{"rendered":"Anaheim father dies from West Nile Virus as SoCal detections surge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A wife found her husband of nearly half a century comatose on the floor of her Anaheim home last month and never spoke to him again after he succumbed to a widely known deadly disease.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Clavel, a 61-year-old father of five and grandfather to 13, died last week <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/09\/18\/us-news\/cases-of-west-nile-virus-soar-in-nyc-surpassing-total-number-in-2025\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">after he contracted West Nile Virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The tragedy is considered all the more devastating, his wife says, because Daniel beat the odds after a vicious motorcycle crash in 2013 nearly left him paralyzed.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Clavel, a 61-year-old father of five and grandfather to 13, died last week after he contracted West Nile Virus. GoFundMe<\/p>\n<p>The tragedy is considered all the more devastating, his wife says, because Daniel beat the odds after a vicious motorcycle crash in 2013 nearly left him paralyzed.<\/p>\n<p>One day, Tracey found her husband lying on the floor unconscious. An ambulance rushed over to take him to the hospital and intubated him. GoFundMe<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey said he\u2019d never walk again, and we didn\u2019t think he\u2019d make it but he did,\u201d Tracey, his wife of 43 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7.com\/post\/orange-county-man-dies-contracting-west-nile-virus-family-issues-warning\/19863152\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">told ABC 7.<\/a> \u201cSo that\u2019s why this situation is even harder because he beat the odds of the motorcycle accident, but a mosquito took him, and I don\u2019t understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tracey said her husband began feeling unwell last month. The family believed he may have the flu or another ailment, but he developed a rash and continued experiencing symptoms. A rash is a common symptom of West Nile Virus, along with fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, and diarrhea.<\/p>\n<p>One day, Tracey found her husband lying on the floor unconscious. An ambulance rushed over to take him to the hospital and intubated him. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe just never regained consciousness. The ambulance came, took him, he was desaturated, so then they had to intubate him and I never saw him again. He never got to tell me he loved me. Never got to hug me again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel died last week after 24 days in the ICU. Doctors tested him for West Nile virus, and he came back positive.<\/p>\n<p>Her husband died last week after 24 days in the ICU. Doctors tested him for West Nile virus, and he came back positive. GoFundMe<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s story is one Tracey hopes that SoCal residents take seriously as <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/03\/health\/first-california-west-nile-virus-death-of-2026-reported-in-kings-county\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">West Nile-infected mosquitos zip around the area<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe left us for people to be aware,\u201d Tracey said.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Brannon of the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District told ABC 7 that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocvector.org\/west-nile-virus-activity-in-the-county\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Orange County<\/a> has recorded its highest number of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus in history this year, with 757 positive samples detected. Anaheim has the most positive samples in the county with 165.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County has reportedly recorded its highest number of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus in history this year. NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Residents are advised to wear insect repellent, avoid standing water, and cover up during peak mosquito hours like dusk and dawn. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot of activity in Anaheim, Fullerton, Buena Park, even Los Alamitos. It\u2019s really spreading mostly throughout the west side of Orange County, but it\u2019s starting to go down a little south and a little bit east, too,\u201d Brannon said.<\/p>\n<p>Residents are advised to wear insect repellent, avoid standing water, and cover up during peak mosquito hours like dusk and dawn.<\/p>\n<p>Most people infected with West Nile virus do not develop symptoms, but those who do will feel them around two to six days after a bite.<\/p>\n<p>The Orange County Health Care Agency said it is investigating Daniel Clavel\u2019s death. Its website does not list his death but notes there have been 21 cases in the area this year.<\/p>\n<p>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n<p>California Post News: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCaliforniaPost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@CaliforniaPost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">X<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@thecaliforniapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">WhatsApp<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a><br \/>California Post Sports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capostsports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/capostsports\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@capostsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CaliforniaPostSports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/capostsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">X<\/a><br \/>California Post  <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Opinion<\/a> <br \/>California Post Newsletters: <a href=\"https:\/\/email.nypost.com\/#california-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Sign up here!<\/a><br \/>California Post App: <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Download here!<\/a><br \/>Home delivery: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.californiapost.com\/defaultCAP\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up here!<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><br \/><\/a>Page Six Hollywood: <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/hollywood-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A wife found her husband of nearly half a century comatose on the floor of her Anaheim home&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,4589,69491,4182,3169,3586,34501],"class_list":["post-474562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-deaths","tag-diseases","tag-metro","tag-mosquitoes","tag-us-news","tag-virus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}