KDHE Announces West Nile Virus Cases Reported human cases reach 22 as 2005 season ends

With the conclusion of the 2005 West Nile Virus season, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported eleven additional human cases in the state, bringing the statewide human case total to 22 this year. The most recent cases in the latter part of the season were reported in Chase, Dickinson, Douglas, Johnson, Kearney, Meade, and Shawnee Counties.

"West Nile Virus season continues until mosquitos become dormant after the earliest frosts and the beginning of cold weather," said Howard Rodenberg, M.D., M.P.H., State Health Director at KDHE. "This means the season does not end at exactly the same time in all parts of Kansas, but by December, the season is effectively over."

"We fully expect to start seeing reports from people and animals again when the next season begins next summer," said Gail Hansen, D.V.M., M.P.H., KDHE State Epidemiologist.

Additional Mosquito/Horse Cases Announced:
Positive mosquito pools were most recently been confirmed in Barton, Crawford, Ellis, Geary, Mitchell, Sedgwick, Stafford, and Trego counties and additional pools in Finney, Seward and Wallace counties. WNV-positive horses were confirmed in Anderson, Barber, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey Decatur, Edwards, Gray, Johnson, Labette, Marshall, Reno and Wabaunsee counties.

In 2005, the virus was found in Anderson, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Chase, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Douglas, Edwards, Ellis, Finney, Geary, Gray, Johnson, Kearny, Kingman, Labette, Marshall, Meade, Mitchell, Reno, Rice, Riley, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Stafford, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace and Wyandotte counties. Human cases in Kansas typically appear in mid summer, then increase through the late summer months and early fall months.

Symptoms range from mild (slight headache and low grade fever) to extreme (neurological disease - swelling of the brain or brain tissue) and in rare cases, death. Most people have no symptoms. Once a person contracts WNV, they are immune to it.

Most healthy people infected with WNV show either no symptoms of illness or only mild symptoms. About 20 percent of those infected show any symptoms, typically seen 3-15 days after the mosquito bite. Because the symptoms are not specific to WNV, only laboratory tests can confirm a diagnosis of WNV.

For more information on West Nile Virus including Kansas cases from 2002 to 2005, go to www.kdheks.gov/westnile/.

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