West Nile Virus
West NIle Virus is a deadly virus, find out some helpful preventive measures here!
The West Nile virus epidemic in the United States continues to increase in numbers as we move further into the month of September. The number of cases has increased 35 percent since last week's official count.
The CDC reports that 1,993 and 87 deaths cases have been reported so far in 2012, indicating "the highest number of West Nile disease cases reported to CDC through the first week of Septebmer since WNV was first detected in 1999." 45 percent of all 2012 cases occurred in Texas.
Recent research shows that West Nile Virus (WNV) has the potential to inflict ongoing health complications, including depression, tremors, headaches, fatigue, and memory issues.
Doctors may have a new weapon against West Nile Virus, thanks to research by expeditionary biologist Terry Fredeking and his team of physicians. A study by Fredeking's company, Antibody Systems of Hurst, found that the antibiotic Doxycycline halved the death of individuals with dengue fever, an illness which behaves similarly to West Nile Virus.
We have not reached the peak of mosquito activity for the season, yet West Nile Virus cases have already begun appearing at a rapid rate along the US, most recently in Texas, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Maine, South Carolina, Michigan, and New York.
Although four out of five people will develop no illness from West Nile Virus (WNV), twenty percent of those infected will experience West Nile fever, leaving 1 in 150 who suffers from severe neuroinvasive disease.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that just this year, 1,100 people have been infected with the West Nile Virus (WNV), resulting in 41 fatalities.
