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Electron Micrograph of West Nile Virus. The virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals. According to state officials, Connecticut has experienced its most difficult season of all time for West Nile virus in 2018, with a record 22 human cases of mosquito-borne disease and one death from a resident of West Haven.
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Electron Micrograph of West Nile Virus. The virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals. According to state officials, Connecticut has had its worst season ever for West Nile
… more
Photo: Photographer: Cynthia Goldsmith /
Electron Micrograph of West Nile Virus. The virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals. According to state officials, Connecticut has experienced its most difficult season of all time for West Nile virus in 2018, with a record 22 human cases of mosquito-borne disease and one death from a resident of West Haven.
less
Electron Micrograph of West Nile Virus. The virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals. According to state officials, Connecticut has had its worst season ever for West Nile
… more
Photo: Photographer: Cynthia Goldsmith /
The state of West Nile virus has been worse than ever in 2018 in the state, which has recorded a record 22 human cases of mosquito transmitted infection and death. a resident of a West Haven resident.
"There were a lot of viruses," said Philip Armstrong, a medical entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, who runs the state's mosquito management program. "It was a busy season."
He added that death was the first fatality linked to West Nile in that state since 2006. Armstrong could only divulge very few details about the victim, other than the fact that this person was a resident of West Haven aged 80 to 90 years old. Armstrong did not get the exact date of death, but said that the person had been hospitalized on September 17.
West Nile virus is mainly transmitted to humans and animals through mosquito bites. The disease has been detected in the state every year since 1999.
Prior to 2018, 134 West Nile human cases were diagnosed among Connecticut residents, including three deaths. Last year, only three Connecticut residents were diagnosed with WNV infection.
Most people who develop West Nile virus do not develop symptoms or develop a relatively mild illness similar to influenza. However, about 1 in every 150 people infected with the disease develop a serious or life-threatening illness.
According to Armstrong, 17 of the 22 people with West Nile Disease in Connecticut have contracted a neuroinvasive disease, such as encephalitis or meningitis.
Dr. Zane Saul, head of infectious diseases at Bridgeport Hospital, said three or four people had been admitted to hospital with West Nile this year.
"Of these, two people were very seriously ill, with involvement of the brain or nervous system," said Saul. "It was the most I've seen in years."
The state began trapping mosquitoes in June and stopped in mid-October. During this period, 393 mosquitoes were tested positive for West Nile virus – the highest number recorded for a season to date.
Previously, 2012 held the record for the highest number of West Nile positive mosquitoes captured in the state, at 235, and the highest number of human cases, at 21.
This year has also been a bad year for the country, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: as of 30 October, 49 states and the District of Columbia reported West Nile infections affecting people, birds or birds. mosquitoes.
A total of 2,204 cases of West Nile virus infection have been reported to the CDC. Of these, 1,342 were classified as neuroinvasive diseases and 862 were classified as non-neuroinvasive diseases. Last year, 2,097 cases of West Nile virus in humans were reported to the CDC.
Armstrong said the weather is probably the cause of the high season. "The summer has been warmer than normal and very wet too," he said. These two factors can exacerbate the spread of West Nile, he said.
If summers continue to be as hot as this one, Armstrong said, West Nile activity will likely continue to be intense.
"These conditions lead to more mosquitoes and more virus transmission," he said.
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