West Nile cases up 40 percent in 1 week - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

West Nile cases up 40 percent in 1 week

Posted:
By Danielle Lama - email

ATLANTA, Ga. (WKOW) -- The number of reported West Nile virus cases continues to rise. According to Federal health officials, they're up 40 percent since last week, putting 2012 on pace to rival the record years of 2002 and 2003.

West Nile cases are expected to persist through October but health officials believe they have peaked or are peaking now. The hot and dry weather may have contributed to the virus boom.

The mosquito-borne disease has caused 66 deaths so far this year and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 1,590 cases in total. Half have the cases have been in Texas.

Powered by WorldNow
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WQOW. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Persons with disabilities who need assistance with issues relating to the content of this station's pubic inspection file should contact Director of Station Operations Lisa Patrow at 715-852-5920. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, at 888-835-5322 (TTY) or at fccinfo@fcc.gov.