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Of 19 Ohio cases, only death is in Cuyahoga County
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Nov 13, 2008
West Nile virus was not a major problem in Ohio in 2008.
Ohio had 19 people stricken by the life-threatening mosquito-borne illness, with one death, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
There were five cases and one death in Cuyahoga County, three cases from Hamilton County, two cases each from Montgomery and Lucas counties and one case each from Lorain, Trumbull, Ottawa, Madison, Knox, Hancock and Clermont counties.
A year ago, Ohio had 23 cases and three deaths.
Nationally, there were 27 West Nile deaths in 2008, down from 92 deaths in 2007, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nationally, 1,200 people were struck this year by West Nile virus, the agency said. The states with the most human cases were California, Arizona, Mississippi and Texas.
But the virus has been confirmed in mosquitoes and birds in the five-county Akron area.
It was found in 24 mosquito samples from Summit County and two samples from Stark County.
In 2007, only nine mosquito samples from Summit County were found with the West Nile virus.
Summit County's positive results may have been higher in 2008 because the Summit County Health Department tested twice as many mosquitoes this year, said Bob Hasenyager, director of environmental health.
The county sent about 116,000 mosquitoes to Columbus for analysis, he said.
As of Nov. 3, Ohio had tested more than 11,000 samples representing nearly 390,000 mosquitoes. The virus was found in 381 samples from 17 Ohio counties. The leading counties were Franklin (118 positive samples), Hamilton (99), Lorain (51), Summit (24) and Cuyahoga (19).
A year ago, the virus was found in 325 mosquito samples in Ohio.
The virus was also detected in one dead bird in Medina County and two dead birds from Stark County. A total of 14 Ohio birds tested positive for the virus this year.
Ohio also tested 23 horses this year and all were negative, the state reported.
The 2008 results were similar to what Ohio has experienced in recent years, Hasenyager said.
Ohio's peak year was 2002, with 441 human cases and 31 deaths.
The virus is believed to be present in all of Ohio's 88 counties, and that's why health officials advise people to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
Fewer than 1 percent of people bitten by infected mosquitoes become severely ill.
Most human infections are mild. Symptoms are fever, headache and body aches, often with a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Severe infections might include headaches, high fever, a stiff neck, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, neurological problems and paralysis.
No vaccines or antibiotics are available for treatment.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
West Nile virus was not a major problem in Ohio in 2008.
Get the full article here.
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