As of 11 July, human cases of West Nile Virus infection have been reported in California, Colorado, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. All have reported one case each, with the exception of Texas and Nebraska, which have reported two each. Seven of these cases involved meningitis or encephalitis.
Avian, animal or mosquito West Nile Virus infections have been reported in the following states:
— Arizona
— Arkansas
— California
— Florida
— Idaho
— Illinois
— Indiana
— Iowa
— Massachusetts
— Michigan
— Minnesota
— Mississippi
— Missouri
— Nebraska
— New York
— North Dakota
— Ohio
— Oklahoma
— Pennsylvania
— South Dakota
— Tennessee
— Texas
— Utah
— Virginia
— West Virginia
— Wisconsin
— Wyoming
At this time in 2005, 48 states (plus District of Columbia) had reported infections, at this time in 2004 the figure stood at 47 states.
Even though this year’s figures have looked pretty low so far, health officials say it is too early to tell whether the rest of the summer will be the same. CDC experts say that mosquito-borne arboviral diseases are very hard to predict. All we do know is that the season starts about now. The number of humans bitten by mosquitoes peaks during the months of July, August and September.
Detailed map:
USGS/CDC West Nile virus web site
http://westnilemaps.usgs.gov
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today