State experiences inexplicably mild West Nile virus season

The West Nile virus season in Georgia, which experts feared would be among the worst, is turning out to be one of the mildest, health officials said Tuesday.

As the season winds down, Georgia health officials confirmed the fourth human case of West Nile virus last week in Floyd County, the second case in that county this year. Other incidents have been identified in Fulton and Cobb counties.

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USDA-Agricultural Research Service

Late summer and fall are prime times for disease-carrying mosquitoes, so Purdue University experts recommend people take precautions for themselves and their pets and livestock. Mosquitoes can transmit a variety of illnesses to people and animals, including West Nile virus, and Eastern and Western encephalitis.

WEST NILE CASES

• 2001: 6 human cases; 1 death
• 2002: 44 cases; 7 deaths
• 2003: 55 cases; 4 deaths
• 2004: 23 cases; 1 death
• 2005: 24 cases; 2 deaths
• 2006: 8 cases; 1 death
• 2007: 52 cases; 1 death
• 2008: 4 cases; 0 deaths
• Source: Georgia Division of Public Health

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“The 63-year-old patient is still hospitalized, but is improving and is scheduled to start rehab soon,” said Northwest Georgia Public Health Public Information Officer Logan Boss.

This season’s record of four confirmed cases and no deaths from the disease is a far cry from the 52 cases and one death last year, which was among the worst years on record, state health officials said.

Health officials acknowledge they can only speculate about why one season has many cases and another few.

Last year’s whopping number of incidents was attributed to the drought, as small stagnant pools of water became mosquito breeding grounds. Expectations were much the same for this year.

Some well-timed spring rains apparently washed out these pools of water before the West Nile-spreading mosquito, called the Southern House Mosquito, could thrive, said Rosmarie Kelly, the state’s public health entomologist.

That cleansing rain upset the delicate balance of factors that must occur — between mosquitoes, birds, humans and the weather — for the disease to spread, she said. Essentially, the birds are bitten by the infected bugs as they gather to drink at the pools. They then spread the disease by getting bitten by other mosquitoes, which then bite and infect humans.

“The breeding wasn’t optimal,” Kelly said. But, she cautioned, “it’s all speculation.”

West Nile, first detected in Georgia in 2001, peaks from July to September, she said, but it still can spread later into the year. When temperatures regularly dip below 50 degrees, the insects no longer thrive.

Boss believes the statewide decrease in cases may be the result of more people heeding the public health messages to wear insect repellent and empty standing pools of water by their homes.

Georgia’s mild West Nile season is reflected nationally. One theory says that so many birds have been bitten by infected mosquitoes over the years, that many have built up immunities or died, leaving fewer to spread the disease, according to national health officials.

So far this year, the country has seen 1,030 cases, with 20 deaths. Last year, the number of cases was 3,630 with 124 deaths.

About one in 150 people infected with the disease will develop severe symptoms including neck stiffness, coma and paralysis. People age 50 and older and those with compromised immune systems may experience an increased risk of severe complications, even death, from the virus.

“Some people can feel weakness for up to a year,” Kelly said.