2012 Deadliest Year Ever In US For West Nile Virus - 286 Fatalities, 5,674 Cases

[hatrack]

West Nile virus killed 286 people in the United States last year, making it the deadliest year yet for the virus, the federal government reported on Monday.

Texas was especially hard hit by the virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and which only arrived in the United States in 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

“A total of 5,674 cases of West Nile virus disease in people, including 286 deaths, were reported to CDC from 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii),” the CDC said in a statement.

West Nile virus is widespread in Africa, Asia and parts of Europe. It causes fever and aches and usually isn’t serious. But in some people it can spread to the brain or spinal cord, killing them or causing paralysis. No one’s sure precisely how West Nile arrived in North America, but it was first reported in New York in 1999. It’s now been reported in all 48 contiguous states, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico and all the way to Argentina.

EDIT

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/13/18232095-2012-was-deadliest-year-for-west-nile-in-us-cdc-says?lite

[Demeter]

1. I suppose Texas can't be bothered to vaccinate the horses

They did that in Michigan, and the incidence dropped. All the blue jays and crows died of it, too. That took out two reservoirs of virus.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. Has anyone else read that the crow population is also

Affected by WNV and changes in population density of crows is used to track the virus?

Love, Peace and Shelter.

[XemaSab]

3. I know that they were seriously concerned with the

yellow-billed magpies. They took a big hit, and conservation professionals were very concerned for a while, but they seem to be pulling through.