Jackie Reid doesn't have much faith in new research that shows many people who have contracted West Nile virus from infected mosquitoes will fully recover.

Her 67-year-old husband, Ron, contracted the virus in 2002 from a mosquito bite while in Toronto. It soon developed into a neurological condition - encephalitis, a swelling of the brain. Six years later, the city man still requires around-the-clock care.

"That's not true, that everyone can be cured," Reid said. "But Ron was a very severe case."

She said there has been no improvement in her husband's condition for over four years.

"He needs assistance with everything except eating ... I'm almost like a 24-hour home-care lady."

Canadian researchers this week said even those with serious neurological complications from West Nile will return to normal over time.

The conclusions come following a 2003-2007 study of 156 Canadians afflicted with West Nile, including some who developed potentially fatal meningitis and encephalitis. The average time to recovery was about a year, said principal investigator Dr. Mark Loeb, an infectious disease specialist at McMaster University.

The study, however, was unable to determine the long-term prognosis for patients who developed acute flaccid paralysis related to West Nile.

Meanwhile, Mike Jenkins, the city bug boss, said only two Culex tarsalis mosquitoes, the variety known to carry West Nile, have been trapped in Edmonton this year. No infected mosquito pools have been found in Alberta this summer, according to the latest bulletin from Alberta Health and Wellness.