According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 103 cases of the West Nile Virus have been reported state wide as of October 9th, 2012. In a previous report on cases of the WNV, 29 cases were reported state wide on September 4th, 2012. Nebraska’s number of reported cases increased by 75 in 35 days.
There are 15 reported cases of the WNV in Lincoln County, an increase of five since the last report of 10 in September. The U.S. Geological Survey lists counties with reported cases as of October 9th, showing 32 counties in Nebraska where WNV has been reported. Lincoln County has highest number of reported cases. Douglas County has 14 reported cases, on October 3rd Douglas County had the highest reported cases.
The numbers reported by the CDC are based on reported cases, the WNV is a gamble on how intense the symptoms will be, “The West Nile Virus can be as mild as the common cold but again it can be deadly,” explained Shannon Vanderheiden, Executive Director at the
West Central Health Department. Not everyone with WNV gets checked by their doctor, which means the actual number of cases may be higher.
In 2009, 52 cases of WNV were reported. In 2010, 39 cases of WNV were reported showing a drop of 13 state wide cases. In 2011, 29 cases of WNV were reported showing a drop of 10. So far in 2012, 103 cases of WNV have been reported state wide showing in increase of 74 cases. The highest number of reportedstate wide cases was in 2003 totaling at 1942 cases, causing 29 fatalities.
According to the CDC, Texas has the highest number of cases in the country at 1,520. The country has 4,249 total cases where 168 caused death.