ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- All Lyle Petersen wanted to do was get his mail.

In the time it took him to walk down his driveway in Fort Collins, Colorado, chat briefly with a neighbor and return to his house, Petersen got infected with a potentially serious mosquito-borne illness called West Nile virus. Within hours of being bitten, he said, he began to feel symptoms he recognized.

And how was he sure so quickly? Petersen, as director of the division of vector borne diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is one of the foremost experts in the world on the condition. A blood test confirmed his suspicion.

"From my own experience, I can tell you it's not a very mild illness," Petersen cautioned. "It will ruin your summer."

"People tend to discount this as a significant problem," Petersen said, "but more than 1.5 million people have been infected so far in the United States, and about 300,000 have had West Nile fever."

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The symptoms range from mild to severe and typically develop between three and 14 days after a person is bitten.

Debbie Koma, a 50-year old hairdresser from Atlanta, Georgia, developed West Nile virus two years ago. She described it as "unlike anything that I ever had before. I was sick as a dog."

She recalled being hospitalized for three days with a high fever, a horrible headache and body aches. After 14 days, she was strong enough to get out of bed, but she says her strength didn't fully return for three months.

Petersen had a similar experience when he was stricken five years ago.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/...