CDC: West Nile Virus deaths at highest Level and Growing
Pastor Dale Morgan
CDC: West Nile Virus deaths at highest Level and Growing*
At least 177 died in 2006; heat wave may have played a part, experts say
Updated: 2:36 p.m. PT June 7, 2007
ATLANTA - Deaths from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus increased last
year to their highest level since 2003, according to a report released
Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 177 people died from West Nile in 2006 out of 4,269 ported
cases, the CDC said. The number of deaths was the greatest since 2003,
when 264 people died out of nearly 10,000 cases.
The deadliest year for West Nile was 2002, when 284 people died.
In 2006, the nation also saw a 14 percent increase in the most serious
West Nile cases involving encephalitis, meningitis or paralysis,
according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Those severe cases are the most likely to be reported to health
authorities and are considered the most reliable measurement of the
illness’s impact on the U.S. population from year to year.
Some experts blamed the West Nile spike on weather, saying last summer’s
heat wave may have contributed to mosquito breeding and activity. It was
comparatively cool in 2004 and 2005.
The worst of the 2006 season occurred out West, with nearly 1,000 cases
in Idaho alone. Human cases along the Eastern seaboard have been
declining since West Nile first appeared in the United States in New
York in 1999.
Some health officials worry that cuts in federal funding could lead to
more illness.
CDC funding for West Nile prevention dropped from $45 million last year
to $27 million this year, although an added $8 million was set aside for
Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
As a result, states are cutting back testing of dead birds and
mosquitoes. Some are also considering reductions in human testing.
“I am concerned,” said Karen Yates of the Missouri Department of Health
and Senior Services. She said testing of dead birds provided an “early
warning system” for much of the state. “I wish we hadn’t lost that
capacity.”