Sauniere
08-19-2007, 02:13 AM
http://www.newslocale.org/health/hnews/california's_nightmarish_west_nile_virus_season_wo rsens_20070818405.html
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The West Nile virus season in California took a turn for the worse after health officials confirmed the death of a person from the infection on Friday taking the total toll to six this year. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) confirmed that the man died due to multiple problems caused by the West Nile virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus infection is established as a seasonal epidemic in North America that flares up in the summer and continues into the fall. West Nile virus (WNV) is a potentially serious illness and this year is predicted to be the worst season in the United States.
California is the worst affected state with 86 cases of West Nile virus reported thus far. Among them six cases have proved fatal.
Although West Nile infection is mild in many cases, one in 150 people can develop severe symptoms, which include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.
Milder symptoms can include fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. The worst of the symptoms arise when West Nile virus invades the neurological system.
According to the CDC, "West Nile encephalitis and West Nile meningitis are forms of severe disease that affect a person’s nervous system. Encephalitis refers to an inflammation of the brain; meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord."
Last year there were a total of 4269 West Nile virus infections reported to the CDC among which 177 proved lethal. The worst affected state in terms of fatalities was Texas with 32 deaths in the 354 cases reported to the CDC.
Idaho followed the fatality charts with 21 deaths among the 956 West Nile infections reported to the CDC...
-snip-
The West Nile virus season in California took a turn for the worse after health officials confirmed the death of a person from the infection on Friday taking the total toll to six this year. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) confirmed that the man died due to multiple problems caused by the West Nile virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus infection is established as a seasonal epidemic in North America that flares up in the summer and continues into the fall. West Nile virus (WNV) is a potentially serious illness and this year is predicted to be the worst season in the United States.
California is the worst affected state with 86 cases of West Nile virus reported thus far. Among them six cases have proved fatal.
Although West Nile infection is mild in many cases, one in 150 people can develop severe symptoms, which include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.
Milder symptoms can include fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. The worst of the symptoms arise when West Nile virus invades the neurological system.
According to the CDC, "West Nile encephalitis and West Nile meningitis are forms of severe disease that affect a person’s nervous system. Encephalitis refers to an inflammation of the brain; meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord."
Last year there were a total of 4269 West Nile virus infections reported to the CDC among which 177 proved lethal. The worst affected state in terms of fatalities was Texas with 32 deaths in the 354 cases reported to the CDC.
Idaho followed the fatality charts with 21 deaths among the 956 West Nile infections reported to the CDC...