A resident of Duluth is sick with a rare case of West Nile virus in Minnesota. Heidi Rantala, 50, was in the emergency room at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Duluth Sunday, Sept. 7. She is now home and recovering from the virus. She believes she was infected with West Nile while on a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in mid-August, she told Paddle and Portage during a recent interview. Rantala continues to experience body aches, headaches, fatigue, among other symptoms. Heidi was with a group of five friends on a trip to the BWCA Wilderness in Lake County near the Finland/Isabella area when she believes she contracted the virus. The group entered at the Kawishiwi Lake entry point. This is believed to be one of the first confirmed cases of West Nile virus ever reported from the BWCA Wilderness. Rantala’s case is one of only 21 cases of West Nile reported statewide this year, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.  In this news update on the podcast, we hear from Heidi about the West Nile infection. We also talk with Elizabeth Schiffman, supervisor of MDH’s Vectorborne Diseases Unit.