WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- West Nile Virus continues to infect Americans across the country and case counts have risen significantly in
recent weeks.
So far this year public health officials have reported 732 West Nile infections, which are caused by mosquito bites. Most cases have been
diagnosed within the past month. Illinois officials reported 46 new WNV cases last week, raising their total this year to 89. Nearly all are in the Chicago area, primarily Cook County (46). California, which for the second straight
year has the most WNV cases (268 so far this year, 779 in 2004), is seeing a slow decline after a peak in August.
West Nile Virus activity peaks in August and September, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and floodwaters and rain from Hurricane Katrina has heightened concern in many states. The CDC last year
reported of 2,749 human cases of WNV, with 900 the serious "neuroinvasive disease" and 88 deaths.
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Posted by gruwell at September 8, 2005 4:42 PM | TrackBack