California West Nile virus cases top 100
With the addition of 25 new human West Nile virus (WNV) cases in the Golden State last week, the state’s tally has the eclipsed the 100 mark, the first state to reach that threshold.
Image/CDPH
The new total of 108 cases include the newest additions from the following counties: Butte (2), Colusa (1), Glenn (5), Los Angeles (2), Orange (3), Riverside (5), San Bernardino (2), San Diego (1), Santa Clara (1), Solano (1), and Yolo (2).
Thirty-five percent of the state’s total are reported from Butte County (38).
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Two WNV-related fatalities have been reported in to California Department of Public Health (CDPH) from San Bernardino (1) and Nevada (1) counties.
In 2014, California led the nation in cases with 801 of the 2,205 cases seen across the country.
One week ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 415 human WNV cases and 10 deaths so far in 2015.
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The CDC says WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. You can reduce your risk of being infected with WNV by using insect repellent and wearing protective clothing to prevent mosquito bites. There are no medications to treat or vaccines to prevent WNV infection. Fortunately, most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. About 1 in 5 people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms. Less than 1% of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.
Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch
Follow @bactiman63
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