- From Promed
-
- (Now that the West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance data
reported to CDC through ArboNET are appearing weekly in MMWR (see part
7 below), ProMED-mail will no longer provide abstracted information from
the USGS West Nile virus maps. A summary map of the current situation is
reproduced in MMWR, and the more detailed USGS maps, down to county level
in some categories, can be accessed by anyone requiring such detailed information.
<http://westnilemaps.usgs.gov>
-
- The following update includes additional reports of the
presence of West Nile virus in blood donations detected prior to the appearance
of symptomatic cases of West Nile virus infection. If validated by further
experience, the screening test now under trial in blood transfusion facilities
may provide a sensitive early indicator of West Nile virus infection in
the human population.
-
- Now that the 2003 West Nile virus season is in full swing,
only extensions of West Nile virus geographic range or host species and
exceptional items will be posted separately from these weekly updates.
- Mod.CP)
-
- In this update:
- [1] Mosquitoes (New York City - Staten Island)
- [2] Human (Texas - Fort Worth)
- [3] Human (Colorado)
- [4] Human (South Dakota)
- [5] Blood donor positive (Florida)
- [6] More Blood donors positive (Colorado)
- [7] MMWR West Nile virus update (17 to 23 Jul 2003)
-
- ******
- [1]
- Date: Fri 18 Jul 2003
- From: Pablo Nart <p.nart@virgin.net>
- Source: Daily News, Fri 18 Jul 2003 [edited]
- <http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/101654p-92010c.html>
-
-
- New York City: West Nile Virus-infected Mosquitoes Detected
in Staten Island
- ---------------------------------------------------
- Mosquitoes collected in the Willowbrook Park area in
Staten Island tested positive for West Nile virus, the first time the potentially
fatal virus has been detected in the city this year, city health officials
said yesterday. The Health Department does not plan to start spraying pesticides
yet, but officials said they have stepped up surveillance for infected
mosquitoes and their larvae in Staten Island.
-
- "It is especially important that elderly New Yorkers
take precautions against mosquitoes now, and continue to do so throughout
the mosquito season," Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said. In
2002, 29 cases of West Nile virus were reported in New York City, resulting
in 3 deaths. The first U.S. outbreak was reported in New York City in 1999.
The virus made 3873 people ill and killed 246 in 2002 in the U.S. Frieden
urged New Yorkers to take the precautions against being bitten by infected
mosquitoes, and he also urged people to report dead birds -- a sign they
may have been infected by West Nile -- by calling 311 or by logging onto
the website at: <www.nyc.gov/health/wnv>
-
- [Byline: Paul Shin]
-
- ******
- [2]
- Date: Sun 20 Jul 2003
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sun 20 Jul 2003 [edited]
- <http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=427&ncid=427
&e=3&u=/kr/20030720/lo_krfortworth/testsconfirmwnilecase>
-
-
- Case of West Nile Virus Infection in Fort Worth
- ------------------------------------------------------
- County health officials have confirmed Fort Worth's first
human case of the West Nile virus in 2003. The patient, described as an
elderly man who lives in the 76104 ZIP code area near the hospital district,
is expected to make a full recovery, said Vanassa Joseph, a spokeswoman
for the Tarrant County Health Department. Joseph said the county's lab
returned the positive test results on Fri 18 Jul 2003. They will be sent
to the Texas Department of Health for further confirmation. Fort Worth
had one human case of West Nile virus in 2002, said Jason Lamers, a spokesman
for the city's health department. No one in Fort Worth has died of the
disease, he said.
-
- [Byline: Peyton D. Woodson]
-
- ******
- [3]
- Date: Wed 23 Jul 2003
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: Casper Star-Tribune, Associated Press report,
Wed 23 Jul 2003 [edited]
- <http://www.trib.com/AP/wire_detail.php?wire_num=82288>
-
-
- Colorado: First Human Case of West Nile Infection for
2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------
- State officials stated on Tue 22 Jul 2003 that a 28-year-old
man from northern Colorado is the first person in the state known to have
contracted West Nile virus infection in 2003.
-
- The man became ill on 6 Jul 2003 and saw his physician
5 days later, said Lori Maldonado, spokeswoman for the state Department
of Public Health and Environment. Tests at state labs confirmed the presence
of West Nile virus on Mon 21 Jul 2003. Officials have sent the results
to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but they were
sure the test was positive.
-
- "It is not surprising that Colorado's first human
case of West Nile virus infection for 2003 would come from Weld County,
because there already has been a great deal of virus activity in the area,"
said state epidemiologist Dr. Ned Calonge. Weld County is on Colorado's
northern border, south of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Dr. Mark Wallace, director
of the Weld County Health Department, said the case was no reason to panic.
Only 2 people out of every 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito experience
any illness, experts say.
-
- 2 weeks ago, the CDC confirmed the nation's first human
case of West Nile virus infection for 2003 in South Carolina. The seasonal
infection has grown from an initial U.S. outbreak of 62 cases in 1999 to
4156 reported cases, including 284 deaths, in 2002. It has spread to all
but a handful of states. The virus first showed up in Colorado in August
2002, but none of the 13 human cases detected in 2002 was fatal. The virus
can be transmitted by mosquito bites that feed on infected birds. It can
also be transmitted through transplanted organs and blood transfusions.
(see: Colorado virus home page at
- <http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/Zoonosis/wnv/wnvhom.html>).
-
- ******
- [4]
- Date: 23 Jul 2003
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: Argus Leader
- <http://www.argusleader.com/news/Wednesdayarticle2.shtml>
-
-
- West Nile strikes first human in S.D. for '03
- ----------------------------
- West Nile virus has [caused illness in the first person]
in South Dakota this summer, officials with the state Department of Health
announced Tuesday. A Lyman County resident became sick with [encephalitis]
Sunday, and tests confirmed West Nile encephalitis. The patient is hospitalized
in Sioux Falls. The first confirmed bird death in Lyman County was 11 Jul
2003, 2 days before the human patient fell ill.
-
- South Dakota is the eighth state with a confirmed case
of West Nile, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and recent news reports. The CDC had confirmed 8 cases in 5
states as of Monday, and Colorado and Iowa recently reported new cases.
-
- ******
- [5]
- Date: Wed 23 Jul 2003
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: Florida Times Union online, Wed 23 Jul 2003 [edited]
- <http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/072303/D7SF44EG1.html>
-
-
- Florida: Blood Bank Detects West Nile Virus in Donor
- ----------------------------------------------------
- Florida's largest blood bank has detected West Nile virus
in a unit of donated blood. The Central Florida Blood Bank announced its
finding on Tue 22 Jul 2003, underscoring the need to check donated blood
for the virus that can cause potentially dangerous brain infections. The
blood bank started testing for West Nile virus on 30 Jun 2003.
-
- The donation was traced to a 36-year-old man from Rockledge
in Brevard County who does not have any symptoms of a West Nile virus infection,
said Mike Pratt, executive vice president of technical services for the
blood bank. "We're just thrilled with this," Pratt said. "I
think we got (the testing) started just under the wire, just in time for
West Nile season." The Brevard County Health Department will investigate
the findings to determine if anything must be done in the donor's area,
officials said.
-
- A new blood screening system developed by Roche Diagnostics
was adopted by the Central Florida Blood Bank as part of a clinical trial
to weed out infected blood donors who risk transmitting the encephalitis-related
disease to transfusion patients. The Central Florida Blood Bank has 29
locations covering 17 counties. It provides more than 250 000 pints of
blood each year and is the fourth largest independent blood bank in the
country.
-
- No human cases of West Nile have been diagnosed in Florida
in 2003, but 2 children have contracted another mosquito-borne infection
-- Eastern equine encephalitis.
-
- ******
- [6]
- Date: Wed 23 Jul 2003
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: Rocky Mountain News, Sat 19 Jul 2003 [edited]
-
-
- Colorado: 9 Suspected West Nile Virus-positive Blood
Donors
- ------------------------------------------------
- 5 more blood donors have tested positive for West Nile
virus, bringing to 9 the number who will be re-tested to see whether they
are false positives, the Bonfils Blood Center reported on Fri 18 Jul 2003.
West Nile virus killed 284 Americans in 2002; in Colorado, 14 people who
got sick tested positive for the virus, but none died.
-
- Bonfils and 21 other blood centers nationwide began testing
donors for West Nile on 1 Jul 2003, so to have so many positives in Colorado
already is unsettling, officials said. That's why Bonfils and the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment both are anxious to retest
the 9 donors who have tested positive to see whether they truly have West
Nile virus infection. Epidemiologists with the state health department
are skeptical, but aren't ruling out that the findings are real.
-
- Bonfils has sent blood samples to the labs with which
it works and also to the state health department. The original test looks
for RNA from the virus itself, but follow-up tests also could include checking
to see whether the donor has developed antibodies to the virus. Results
should be known within 2 weeks.
-
- The state health department has no reports of ill Coloradans
who've tested positive for West Nile this year. The West Nile season is
expected to peak in August and September. In 2002, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reported a handful of West Nile cases that likely
came from patients receiving blood from donors with the virus. Jessica
Maitland, a spokeswoman for Bonfils, said the first positives in Colorado
didn't come until the second week of testing in July, which gives officials
some assurance that infected blood didn't get into the nation's blood supply
in late June before testing began. Every unit of blood that tested positive
was quarantined, Maitland said, "ensuring that the blood supply is
safer than ever."
-
- Also this week, 6 more horses have tested positive for
West Nile virus, bringing the total to 10 in Colorado's second summer of
dealing with the virus. The 10 horses include one each from Adams, Fremont,
Larimer, Crowley, and Yuma counties and 5 from Weld County.
-
- [Byline: Bill Scanlon]
-
- ******
- [7]
- Date: Thu 24 Jul 2003
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Fri 25
Jul 2003 / 52(29);686
- [edited]
- <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5229a4.htm>
-
-
- United States: West Nile Virus Activity; Thu 17 Jul to
Wed 23 Jul 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
- This report summarizes West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance
data reported to CDC through ArboNET as of 8 a.m., Mountain Daylight Time,
Wed 23 Jul 2003.
-
- During the reporting week of Thu 17 Jul to Wed 23 Jul
2003, 6 human cases of WNV infection were reported from 5 states (Iowa,
Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas). During the same period, WNV
infections were reported in 309 dead corvids (crows and related species),
69 other dead birds, 12 horses, and 144 mosquito pools.
-
- During 2003, a total of 11 human cases of WNV infection
have been reported from Texas (n = 5), Alabama (n = one), Iowa (n = one),
Minnesota (n = one), Ohio (n = one), South Carolina (n = one), and South
Dakota (n = one). Among these cases, 7 (64 percent) occurred among men;
the median age was 70 years (range: 42 to 80 years), and the dates of illness
onset ranged from 29 May to 13 Jul 2003. In addition, 551 dead corvids
and 150 other dead birds with WNV infection were reported from 34 states;
55 WNV infections in horses have been reported from 16 states (Alabama,
Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, and
Wyoming), and one WNV infection was reported in a dog (South Dakota). During
2003, WNV seroconversions have been reported in 56 sentinel chicken flocks
from Florida, Iowa, and North Carolina. South Dakota reported 3 seropositive
sentinel horses; 327 WNV-positive mosquito pools have been reported from
15 states (Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia,
and Wisconsin).
-
- Additional information about WNV activity is available
from CDC at <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm>
and <http://westnilemaps.usgs.gov/>
-
-
- ProMED-mail
- <promed@promedmail.org>
-
- [The positive mosquito pool in Staten Island and the
suspected human case
- in Colorado are additional to the figures listed in the
MMWR update. - Mod.CP]
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
-
- _
|
