Public healthCDC says West Nile virus outbreak worst in years
The Center for Disease Control(CDC) says that last year’s mild winter and a wet spring have contributed to the worst West Nile virusoutbreak since its initial detection in 1999; according to the CDC, as of 14 August, at least 693 cases that have been reported across the United States, including twenty-eight deaths
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that last year’s mild winter and a wet spring have contributed to the worst West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak since its initial detection in 1999.
According to the CDC, as of 14 August, at least 693 cases that have been reported across the United States, including twenty-eight deaths. The earliest reported case this year was in Monmouth County, New Jersey on 24 July, which was the earliest case since the first known case in 1999. So far this summer the virus has been located in thirty-two different states.
The Examiner reports that the WNV is a seasonal virus detected in the summer and throughout the fall. The virus is spread by the bite of a mosquito and cannot be spread from person to person.
The CDC warns that people with a weak immune system, such as young adolescents and senior citizens, are at a much higher risk to contract a severe form of the virus.
The latest case was William Mueller, who was the president of the Village of Lombard, a suburb in Chicago. Mueller, 76, died from complications due to the Virus.
In the past the CDC has greatly expanded its Division of Vector-Borne Diseases(DVBD) to focus on the increase of bacterial and viral infections carried by mosquitoes as well as ticks and fleas. This type of disease is the hardest to control because they can travel through animals and pets, who can pass it on to humans.
The CDC describes the DVBD as one of the world’s foremost centers of research for preventing and controlling vector-borne viruses and bacteria.
The Examiner notes that DVBD, more than any other division of CDC, is responsible with mitigating risk, providing emergency continuity-of-operations, and tests for all major infectious bioterrorism agents.
CDC and DHS have collaborated on identifying pathogens terrorists might use as biological weapons. Bioterrorism experts typically focus on anthrax, botulism, Ebola, plague, or smallpox as the most likely bioterror agents. The CDC list is longer, and includes Venezuelan, western, and eastern equine encephalitis viruses, Q fever, RMSF, and epidemic typhus as potential bioterror agents which are “moderately easy to disseminate.”
There have been ads around the country informing people of the WNV and how to prevent it, including wearing long sleeve clothes at night, using mosquito repellent if you work or are outdoors most of the day, and buying citronella candles for parties and outdoor events.