CDC releases final West Nile virus update for 2012
Image/CDC
Not since 2003 has the United States seen so many human cases of West Nile virus (WNV), reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dec. 11.
In their final update for 2012, the federal health agency reported a total of 5,387 cases of West Nile virus disease in people, including 243 deaths, according to the preliminary data for this year.
Of the 5,387 cases reported, 2,734 (51%) were classified as neuroinvasive disease (such as meningitis or encephalitis) and 2,653 (49%) were classified as non-neuroinvasive disease.
Eighty percent of the cases have been reported from 13 states (Texas, California, Louisiana, Illinois, Mississippi, South Dakota, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Ohio, and New York) and a third of all cases have been reported from Texas.
In 2003, the year with the most reported cases, there were 9,862 cases and 264 fatalities. Colorado reported nearly 3,000 cases alone.
Alaska and Hawaii are the only states not to report West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes this year.
Final data for the 2012 West Nile outbreak will be available next spring.
For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
[…] As promised, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released the final data for West Bile Virus in the US for 2012. […]
[…] virus (WNV). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 5,387 cases of West Nile virus disease in people, including 243 deaths, according to the preliminary data for this […]