Community Corner

Is West Nile Coming to Oakland County?

Patch offers mosquito prevention tips, and the map below shows the number of West Nile cases last summer.

This story was written and reported by Carly Keyes andJohn Ness.

Last year, Oakland County reported 23 cases of West Nile, which accounts for 11 percent of the 202 West Nile-related deaths that occurred in Michigan.

To give residents a sense of West Nile’s prevalence in Oakland County, Patch has pulled together county-level 2012 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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“Last year was a big bump,” said Kathy Forzley, Health Officer for Oakland County Health Division. “We have not seen this many cases of the West Nile Virus in Michigan for many years.”

The Cases and Incidence Rates

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You can see how counties across the state compare by using the interactive map above, which shows the number of West Nile cases in humans and the infection rate. 

West Nile – named after the district in Uganda where the virus was first discovered – spread to New York City in 1999, and has been migrating across the United States ever since.  Last year was the deadliest year so far for West Nile in the United States, with more than 5,600 "confirmed and probable" cases, and at least 286 related deaths. 

Local predictions for 2013 are very difficult to make. But nationally, "the number of humans with West Nile virus disease continues to rise in the United States," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases

No Vaccine, Little Reporting, But a High Cost

Currently, no vaccine exists for humans, according to Forzley. Furthering the problem is the fact that cases of West Nile often go unreported. 


“People may have had West Nile and never known it,” Forzley said. “Many cases are reported to us every year from blood donors. West Nile is something that the Red Cross tests for because it can be transmitted through the blood. We’ll get reports from them of people who have the virus but haven’t experienced any symptoms.”

And, there is currently no comprehensive treatment for someone infected by West Nile, which makes severe diagnoses all the more frightening. 

“Severe symptoms, which mainly occur in older adults, may result in death,” Forzley said. “Or it can involve damage to the brain, such as encephalitis.”  

From Birds to Bugs to Humans

West Nile has also been detected in bird populations, notably in Central Michigan. “It takes an adult mosquito to transfer the illness from the bird population to the human population,” Forzley said. An infected bird can pass the virus along to an uninfected mosquito when bitten.
  
Prevention and Symptoms

Forzley mentioned that, despite the huge increase in WNV cases last year, Oakland County has worked hard, along with funding from Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson, to implement a West Nile Prevention Program.

“We think it’s made a dramatic difference,” Forzley said. “Last year, Oakland County fared far better in terms of the rate of illness that was reported compared to the five other major urban areas in Michigan who do not have the same WNV prevention program.”

The CDC recommends using an EPA-certified mosquito repellant if you’re going to be outdoors, and lists some additional prevention tips on their website, including:

  • When weather permits, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors.

  • Place mosquito netting over infant carriers when you are outdoors.

  • At least once or twice a week, empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels, and cans.

With the 2012 mosquito season was the highest on record, health officials are cautioning people to take immediate action if you believe you’ve been infected. The CDC website lists varying degrees of symptoms, including: 

  • Serious Symptoms in a Few People. About one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness, including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, and paralysis.

  • Milder Symptoms in Some People. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.

  • No Symptoms in Most People. Approximately 80 percent of people  infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all.


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