West Nile cases on rise in Southern California
The risk of contracting the mosquito-borne disease is the highest it's been since 2004, health experts say.
Health officials from agencies across Southern California warned Tuesday that the region was experiencing a resurgence of West Nile virus after years of declining infection rates.
In an unprecedented call for public awareness, officials from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties gathered Tuesday in Garden Grove to announce a full-scale assault against West Nile and the mosquitoes that transmit it.
"The public in Southern California is threatened by this situation and must take this threat seriously," said Gerard Goedhart, district manager of the Orange County Vector Control District.
Officials say the risk of human infection in Southern California is the highest it's been since 2004, when 710 Southern Californians became infected with the virus and 21 died.
Between 2005 and 2007, the region experienced a decrease in West Nile cases, although they spiked in Northern and Central California. But this year, the rates of human infection in Southern California are early five times higher compared with the previous three years, said Robert Cummings, Orange County vector control science director. "It's come back very strong and is a worrisome trend," Cummings said.
On Tuesday, San Bernardino County confirmed its first human case of the year. Seven new cases were reported in Riverside County this week. Since the beginning of the year, 12 people have been infected in Los Angeles County, nine in Orange County and two in San Diego County.
Thirty-nine cases of human West Nile virus have been confirmed in the state as of Tuesday. There have been no fatalities related to West Nile virus in California this year, but officials fear an outbreak between August and October, the peak period for infections.
Humans and animals contract West Nile virus from bites of infected mosquitoes, which contract it by feeding on birds that have the virus in their blood. Most people who are infected by the virus do not become ill, but one in five people develop flu-like symptoms. In its most severe form, West Nile can cause encephalitis, meningitis and death.
This year, 70% of the victims have contracted the more serious neurological form of the disease, West Nile neuroinvasive disease, Cummings said. That's a higher number than in past years, but officials do not know why that is. It's an additional cause for concern, officials said.
