Nobody in Illinois this year has fallen victim to the West Nile virus that killed dozens of people in the state last year. But on Thursday, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounded an alarm, reporting that the number of West Nile virus cases nationwide has tripled to at least 164 since last week and will likely break last year’s record.
Health officials in Illinois said they are intent on keeping our infection rate at zero.
“This is really crunch time in terms of vigilance,” said Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Last year, when Illinois led the nation in the number of West Nile cases and fatalities, the first human case was not reported in Illinois until Aug. 6, health officials said.
To date this year, the West Nile virus has been found in 23 birds and 28 mosquito pools across Illinois. Of those, nine mosquito pools and five birds were in Cook County, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
On Thursday, federal officials said they were concerned this year’s outbreak could be worse than last year’s as the virus spreads farther west.
“Every sign indicates it is on the increase. Now is the time for people to step up their efforts to fight the bite,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC in Atlanta.
“The numbers are starting to change very, very quickly,” she said. “That is very concerning.”
In Chicago, West Nile has been found in fewer birds than at this time last year, Hadac said. “We have two West Nile-positive birds so far. Last year, we had them dropping in every neighborhood of the city,” he said. Mosquitoes are infected with the West Nile virus when they bite infected birds.
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But because a stifling-hot August could create the conditions that lead to more of the type of mosquitoes that are associated with West Nile, Hadac said, “It’s far too early to declare victory.”
Drawing from lessons learned in 2002, this year the city finished dropping larvicide into 210,000 catch basins almost two months earlier in the season than last year. City crews also have been instructed to keep an eye on swimming pools that are not well-maintained and to take action when necessary to encourage property owners to get rid of standing water, Hadac said.
About 120 mosquito traps have been located around the city to help control the mosquito population as well, Hadac said.
This year’s wet, stormy summer actually has been a boon in the fight against West Nile.
“The unusually wet weather has been helping us,” Hadac said. The mosquitoes that generally are infected are not the type that emerge from floodwaters, officials said.
“The Northern House Mosquito needs stagnant water to breed, not floodwater. When you have a dry summer and you have water in catch basins and sewers just sitting there for a while, then you get a lot of those,” Hadac said.
While few people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will actually develop serious symptoms, Illinois residents should be concerned enough to take the proper precautions, said Tammy Leonard, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
People over 50 and with weakened immune systems are typically more at risk. Last year, the majority of fatalities in Illinois involved victims 75 and older.
Symptoms generally develop 3 to 14 days after the bite. Serious symptoms include the rapid onset of a high fever, severe headache, muscle aches, stiffness in the back of the neck, disorientation, convulsions and coma.
Because the numbers for reported cases of infected birds and mosquitoes are lower than last year, Leonard said hopefully that will translate into fewer human cases this year.
“But there is no way to predict that,” she said.
West Nile in Illinois
First found in the U.S. in New York in 1999, the West Nile virus pushed its way to Illinois in Sept. 2001, when its presence was confirmed in two dead crows found in the Chicago area.
In 2002, other birds, mosquitoes and horses tested positive for the virus.
In August 2002, the first human case was reported and, by year’s end, Illinois led the nation with almost 900 human cases diagnosed and 66 deaths.
So far this year, the virus has been found in 23 birds and 28 mosquito batches, but in no humans or horses, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
RedEye.