• Maine: (Updated Oct 28 2002) As of Oct 25, 66 birds had tested WNV-positive in 8 of ME's 16 counties. WNV was detected for the first time this year in a bird from Orono, Penobscot Co (S. Central ME), collected July 23 and tested July 30 2002. This is the furthest east and north that WNV has been detected in Maine. In 2001, 7 birds tested WNV-positive in Sabattus, South Berwick and Portland areas, all in the SW part of ME, near the New Hampshire border. The first WNV detections reported by Bangor Daily News (BDN) were 2 crows, 1 bluejay and 1 sharp-shinned hawk that was later determined to be WNV-negative (ann Oct 5) (all found between Aug 22 and Aug 31; ann Sept 12).
  [Maine West Nile Virus Information Center: http://www.state.me.us/dhs/boh/ddc/westnile.htm]
  
  
• Maryland: (Updated Oct 28 2002) There have been 23 WNV-positive human cases with 1 fatality in MD of the 700 MD residents tested since May 1st. The first human case for the state was a 80-year-old man from Baltimore City who was hospitalized Aug 1 with mild symptoms of encephalitis, discharged prior to announcement and doing well at home (ann Aug 14).
  The first WNV-positive in 2002 was a bird found in Price Georges Co (DC Metro Area) June 17. Of the 1600 birds tested, 594 have tested WNV-positive. Of the 6100 mosquito pools tested, 46 pools have tested WNV-positive with 44 Culex species and 2 Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Thus far, 15 horses have also tested WNV-positive. When each of the zip codes has confirmed two or more positive birds, bird pick-up ceases.
  In 2001 the first infected birds were reported in May, and Maryland eventually recorded 454 WNV-positive birds as well as 6 human (3 fatalities) and 2 equine cases. Most cases were from the Baltimore and DC areas. Both of the two human fatalities in 2001 were persons suffering from other "chronic debilitating diseases.".
  In 2001 6 people were sickened by WNV (3 fatalities, 1 of which was in May 2002):
  1) 73-year-old W Baltimore man (admitted to hospital Aug 22, died May 25, 2002, 9 months after contracting WNV, fatality announced June 1, 2002.
  2) 63-year-old woman from Eastpoint in Baltimore Co (hospitalized late Aug unconscious and suffering from seizures, appeared to have stabilized, then died during weekend Sept 8-9 from causes unrelated to the virus, ann Sept 7).
  3) 70-year-old woman in Baltimore (ann Sept 20) died in late Sept, succumbing to an underlying illness.
  4) 79 year old woman from Eastpoint (ann Sept 21).
  5) 74 year old man from the Carney area of Baltimore Co (ann Sept 21). 6) 76-year-old man from Prince George's Co (disease onset Sept 29).
  In 2001, according to USDA APHIS there were two WNV-positive horses (1 fatality) [More], but according to the Maryland Abrovirus Surveillance Final Report for 2001 there were 7 WNV-positive horses, of 34 tested [More]. On Sept 26 2001, WNV was for the first time positively identified in 4 horses, 3 in Baltimore and 1 in Cecil Co. The animals infected were mostly older pets. Fort Dodge Animal Health shipped 35,000 doses of WNV equine vaccine to MD in 2001.
  A total of 454 birds (mostly crows, a few blue jays and one cooper's hawk; first finding ann May 25) confirmed WNV-positive of 1503 tested and 17,562 reported dead birds.
  In 2001, 18 mosquito pools tested WNV-positive (first one ann July 18) of 12,807 tested.
  [Maryland West Nile Virus Information Page: http://www.edcp.org/html/west_nile.html]
  
  
• Massachusetts: (Updated Oct 28 2002) In 2002, WNV has been detected in 11 of 14 counties in Massachusetts. There have been 20 human cases with 3 additional cases of WNV that was acquired out-of-state and 3 fatalities. The 38-year-old Needham resident is believed to have acquired her infection during a recent visit to St Louis, Missouri area (symptom onset Aug 2; ann Aug 13) and the other two out-of-state cases are in Michigan and Missouri residents. Thus far, 68 mosquito pools, 2 horses, 1 lama and 572 of 853 birds tested have tested WNV-positive. A crow found May 21 in Wakefield (Middlesex Co) was the first WNV-positive case in 2002, detected 7 weeks earlier than the first MA detection in 2001 [More].
  WNV was detected in MA in 2000, but there were no clinical human cases until 2001, when 3 cases were reported (1 fatality): a 70-year-old man from Woburn, a NE suburb of Boston (symptoms onset and hospitalized Aug 21; died mid-Oct, ann Nov 14); an 89-year-old man from Acushnet (onset mid-Oct; ann of Nov 14); a 72-year-old man from Dartmouth (infected about Oct 22; onset of illness Nov 5; hospitalized Nov 8; ann Nov 29) [More].
  In 2001, 45 horses in 4 counties in SE MA tested WNV-positive (1 fatality), with onsets between Aug 28 and Oct 16. Confirmatory testing was done at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL).
  In 2001, 1104 WNV-positive birds (of 2402 tested and 10,906 reported dead birds) were identified from at least 64 towns (first one ann July 16), primarily in the eastern part of the state.
  In 2001, 35 mosquito pools were identified WNV-positive (first ann Aug 28), primarily bird-biting mosquitoes but at least 1 isolate was from human-biting mosquitoes in Franklin (Ochlerotatus japonicus, previously called Aedes japonicus, collected Aug 27).
  [Massachussetts Dept of Public Health: http://www.state.ma.us/dph/wnv/wnv1.htm]
  [MA WNV Daily Update]
  
  
• Mexico: (Updated Aug 30 2002) First reports of WNV in Mexico appeared in ProMED-mail postings Aug 28, in a person who is thought to have contracted WNV during a trip to Houston, Texas (and therefore, whose illness and death do not indicate local WNV transmission) and in birds in the Yucatan (collected in 2001). The human case is a 72-year-old man from the northern Mexico state of Coahuila (infected late Jul, disease onset Jul 27; hospitalized mid-Aug, died Aug 20, WNV results confirmed Aug 27, ann Aug 28). As of Aug 28, Mexican health officials had sent blood samples of 10 others from the northern border states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas to Texas for analysis, and a team of doctors to CDC for training in the detection of the WNV.
  Six birds captured in 2001 in the port of Celestun and in the municipality of Tzucacab, 150 km inland in the Yucatan Peninsula, are reported to have "antibodies against flavivirus," but are not confirmed to be infected with WNV (rather than another flavivirus (Source: El Diario (Nuevo Laredo, Mexico) translated and cited in ProMED mail).
  
  
• Michigan: (Updated Oct 28 2002) There have been 467 human cases with 40 fatalities in 20 counties and WNV transmission seems to have ended with the beginning of the cold weather since early October. Though additional cases may be confirmed in the next couple weeks, these cases would probably have had onset of symptoms in Aug or early Sept and hence, do not represent continued transmission of WNV. The first human cases were a 82-year-old man (ann Aug 16) and a 63-year-old man (ann Aug 16). The average age of human cases in MI so far is 57.8 years with a range from 9 months to 95 years. The most number of human cases occured in Wayne (154 cases) and Oakland (152 cases) Counties.
  Equine cases have been reported mainly from southern MI but WNV has also been confirmed in Houghton and Mackinac counties in northern MI. As of Oct 14, 307 horses had been confirmed WNV-positive.
  In 2002 WNV-positive birds have been found in 72 of Michigan's 94 counties including. The first WNV detection in 2002 was in a crow from Livonia found May 23 (Wayne Co, Detroit Metro Area). Currently the surveillance policy in Michigan is to accept dead crows from a county only until one WNV-positive crow is found. Note: this may create the illusion that WNV is less prevalent in Michigan than in surrounding states (source: R. Knepper, Saginaw Co Mosquito Abatement Comm, June 12, 2002).
  In 2001, 65 crows and blue jays were found WNV-positive in 10 southern MI counties, mostly in the Detroit area (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Ingham, Jackson, Wastenaw, Barry, Calhoun, Ottawa and Muskegon). The crows found in early Aug (ann Aug 23) were Michigan’s first WNV findings. Two mosquito pools also tested WNV-positive in Oakland and Macomb Co.
  [Michigan Department of Agriculture Page: http://www.michigan.gov/mda]
  
  
• Minnesota(Updated Aug 30 2002) As of Aug 30 2002, WNV has been detected in 2 humans (Hennepin and Carver Counties), 247 horses in 61 counties and 228 birds in 56 counties. WNV was detected for the first time ever in a crow from Hennepin Co (location of Minneapolis) found July 9 [More].
  Though the DOH had not reported any cases of WNV for 2001, they did conduct dead bird surveillance in cooperation with the Dept of Natural Resources; worked with the MN Board of Animal Health to encourage reporting of encephalitis in horses; worked with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District to monitor local mosquito population levels; and conducted WNV testing on mosquito samples [More].
  [Minnesota Dept of Health: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/dpc/ades/wnv/wnv.htm]
  
  
• Mississippi: (Updated Oct 28 2002) As of Oct 25, WNV has been detected in all 81 counties in MS. As of Oct 25, 180 human cases including 10 fatalities (onset of symptoms of first human case July 12) were reported WNV-positive by the MS DOH. This gives an incidence rate for MS at about 6.3/100,000.
  As of Oct 25 2002, 7 mosquito pools, 256 horses and 340 birds had been confirmed WNV-positive by the MS DOH. The first cases of WNV in 2002 were in birds from Panola Co (N. MS) and Hinds Co (Central MS) ann July 18.
  The first case of WNV was detected in a horse Sept 19 2001 in Lee Co (northern MS, near Alabama and Tennessee). According to USDA APHIS, there were 17 equine cases in 4 counties (7 fatalities), while the MSDH reported 21 WNV-positive horses in 2001. Of the 83 humans tested as of Oct 21 2001, all were WNV-negative.
  As of Oct 21 2001, 1 of 505 reported dead birds and 5 of 1411 wild birds tested WNV-positive.
  As of Oct 21 2001, all mosquitoes were negative for WNV, SLE, LAC and EEE of 40,606 mosquitoes and 11,289 pools were tested, though the Cache Valley Virus was detected in one of the mosquito samples.
  [Mississippi Dept of Health-See Press Room: http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/msdhsite/index.cfm]
  
  
• Missouri: (Updated Aug 21 2002) The first human case reported in Missouri will officially be listed as a Massachusetts case because the individual is a Massachusetts resident, according to Dr. Howard Pue, chief of Missouri Communicable Disease Control and Veterinary Public Health. The 5 cases (presumptive) announced Aug 14 in the Missouri Post-Dispatch are all from the St. Louis area:
  1) 38-year-old Massachusetts woman most likely contracted WNV while in the St. Louis area at the end of July 2002 (ann Aug 13; onset of encephalitis symptoms Aug 2 02)
  2) 42-year-old male (ann Aug 14, in good condition)
  3) 61-year-old male (ann Aug 14, hospitalized, in poor condition)
  4) 36-year-old woman (ann Aug 14)
  5) 36-year-old woman
  6) 75-year-old woman (ann Aug 19, died Aug 7, presumed WNV-positive)
  
  In 2002, WNV has been detected in 11 counties/cities in Missouri. WNV-positive results are from Boone Co (2; Central MO), Dunklin Co (1), Laclede Co (1), Mississippi Co (1; SE MO, on Kentucky/Illinois borders), Pemiscot Co (1; SE MO, on Tennessee border), Perry Co (2), Ste. Genevieve Co (1; E. MO, on Illinois border), St. Charles Co (1; E. MO), St. Louis City (9; E. MO), St. Louis Co (8; E. MO), and Stoddard Co (1; SE MO). WNV was detected for the first time in 2002 in a blue jay from Stoddard Co (SE MO) found July 8.
  In 2001, 8 crows tested WNV-positive in St Louis Co and St Louis City (eastern MO), with the first one found Sept 16 [More].
  [Missouri Dept of Health and Senior Services: http://www.health.state.mo.us/WestNileVirus/index.html]
  
  
• Montana: (Updated Aug 27 2002) The first case of WNV in Montana was reported in a horse in Shepard (Yellowstone Co; south central MT) on Aug 22 2002. Another 2 horses in Glendive (Dawson Co; east central MT) tested WNV-positive on Aug 23, one of which died (a 17-year-old gelding quarter horse). Four state agencies combined their expertise in Spring 2002 to begin monitoring for WNV.
  [MT DPHHS: http://www.dphhs.state.mt.us/]
  
  

© 1999-2006 Cornell University Environmental Risk Analysis Program