Reuters: U.S.: Cases of West Nile virus set record, deaths soar: CDC

Reuters: U.S. Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Cases of West Nile virus set record, deaths soar: CDC Aug 29th 2012, 17:04 Wed Aug 29, 2012 1:04pm EDT (Reuters) - A total of 1,590 U.S. cases of West Nile virus, including 66 deaths, have been reported through late August this year, the highest human toll reported since the mosquito-borne disease was first detected in the country in 1999, health officials said on Wednesday. The toll is rising quickly and "we think the numbers will continue to rise," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. Through last week, 1,118 cases and 41 deaths had been reported, and the updated figures represent a 40 percent increase in the number of cases and a 61 percent spike in the number of deaths. In hard-hit Texas, the number of confirmed cases soared to 733, up 197 from last week, said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. Deaths reached 31, up 10 from last week. "It looks like it is going to be our worst year ever," said Lakey. "As I look at the data, I'm not convinced we have peaked." (Reporting by Sharon Begley; Editing by Sandra Maler) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions