| ■ West Nile Cases Lower in 2009 | 2010.07.02 |
| The West Nile virus season in 2009 was the mildest in eight years, and that trend appears to be continuing this year, say U.S. health officials. Last year saw 386 cases of severe West Nile illness and 33 deaths, compared to 3,000 illnesses and more than 260 deaths in 2002 and 2003. So far this year just one serious West Nile illness has been reported in the United States, the Associated Press reported. The decline in the number of cases may be because birds are developing immunity to the virus, which is spread to humans by mosquitoes that bite infected birds. Severe symptoms of infection with West Nile virus, first documented in the United States in 1999, include neck stiffness, disorientation, coma and paralysis, the AP reported. |