West Nile cases soared in past week

West Nile

Sep 11, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – West Nile virus infected 1,067 people the week of Sep 4 to 10, more than double the number the previous week, and claimed 17 more lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far this year there have been 2,923 cases with 54 deaths, the CDC reports in the Sep 12 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. That compares with 4,156 cases and 284 deaths last year.

Colorado continues to have by far the largest outbreak, with 973 cases to date, more than double the number in Nebraska, second on the list with 436 cases. Others states with high numbers are South Dakota, 407; Wyoming, 239; Texas, 190; and Montana, 116. Colorado also has had the most deaths, with 13, followed by Nebraska, 10; Texas, 6; South Dakota, 5; New Mexico, 4, and Wyoming, 4.

Six states—Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Alaska, and Hawaii—remained free of either human or animal West Nile cases as of yesterday, according to the CDC. States with animal cases but no reported human cases included California, Utah, Michigan, West Virginia, Delaware, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

CDC. West Nile virus activity—United States, September 4-10, 2003. MMWR 2003;52(36):870 [Full text]

See also:

CDC West Nile virus site
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm

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