Wednesday, July 11, 2007
West Nile virus spreads in California
LOS ANGELES, July 10 (Xinhua) -- West Nile virus has already spread to 26 counties in California, infecting three people, health officials confirmed on Tuesday.
The spread prompted health officials to call on the public to take aggressive preventive measures, including immunizing their animals, draining standing water, putting screens on windows and doors and preventing mosquito bites.
All three infected people were reported in Kern County which leads in the number of cases reported of the mosquito-borne disease. The county also reported 41 dead birds that tested positive for the virus.
No other county has reported human cases so far this year, but health officials warn that high temperatures that have hit much of the state could prompt a more rapid spread of the disease than last year.
Sixty new cases of dead birds testing positive for the virus were reported last week across the state, according to the Los Angeles Times.
West Nile virus, unheard of in California before 2002, is now endemic in California and there is no hope of eradicating it. It spreads most rapidly in July and August.
"The hot spells we are having now are definitely good for the virus," said Stan Husted, a supervising public health biologist with the California Department of Public Health. "What we want is to have fewer cases than last year, not more."
The disease is named after the West Nile district of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated; it is commonly found in Africa and Asia.
In California, the disease peaked in 2004 when it appeared in all 58 counties, infecting at least 779 people and killing 28. The incidence of the disease has declined each of the last two years, killing seven in 2006, according to figures released by The Times.
West Nile virus causes flu-like symptoms, with many people infected without suffering any symptoms. But in its more severe form, it can cause encephalitis, meningitis and death. Older people are more likely to develop severe symptoms than younger people.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/11/content_6356496.htm
Share It:
· 
· 
· 
· 
· 
· 
· 
More Bookmarks...
The spread prompted health officials to call on the public to take aggressive preventive measures, including immunizing their animals, draining standing water, putting screens on windows and doors and preventing mosquito bites.
All three infected people were reported in Kern County which leads in the number of cases reported of the mosquito-borne disease. The county also reported 41 dead birds that tested positive for the virus.
No other county has reported human cases so far this year, but health officials warn that high temperatures that have hit much of the state could prompt a more rapid spread of the disease than last year.
Sixty new cases of dead birds testing positive for the virus were reported last week across the state, according to the Los Angeles Times.
West Nile virus, unheard of in California before 2002, is now endemic in California and there is no hope of eradicating it. It spreads most rapidly in July and August.
"The hot spells we are having now are definitely good for the virus," said Stan Husted, a supervising public health biologist with the California Department of Public Health. "What we want is to have fewer cases than last year, not more."
The disease is named after the West Nile district of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated; it is commonly found in Africa and Asia.
In California, the disease peaked in 2004 when it appeared in all 58 counties, infecting at least 779 people and killing 28. The incidence of the disease has declined each of the last two years, killing seven in 2006, according to figures released by The Times.
West Nile virus causes flu-like symptoms, with many people infected without suffering any symptoms. But in its more severe form, it can cause encephalitis, meningitis and death. Older people are more likely to develop severe symptoms than younger people.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/11/content_6356496.htm
Share It:
· · · · · · · More Bookmarks...
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
