46 new cases of West Nile confirmed in IL today(211 total..90 the last 2 days)

[newsperson999]

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The total number of Illinois human cases of West Nile virus illness now stands at 211 with the addition today of 46 new cases of the mosquito-transmitted disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health has announced.

Human cases have now been identified in 21 of the state's 102 counties, including four counties – Crawford, Kane, Lake and Stephenson – that today reported their first cases. There have been nine deaths attributable to West Nile infection.

The new cases reported today include 13 from the city of Chicago, 25 from suburban Cook County, two from St. Clair County, and one each from Crawford, Effingham, Kane, Lake, Stephenson and Will counties.

CHICAGO: An 87-year-old man, whose hospital information is not known; a 64-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; a 73-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 47-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 50-year-old man, who was hospitalized; a 67-year-old woman, who was hospitalized; a 76-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 59-year-old woman, who was hospitalized; a 43-year-old man, whose hospital information is not known; a 14-year-old girl, who was hospitalized; a 15-year-old boy, who was hospitalized; a 14-year-old girl, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; and a 45-year-old man with West Nile fever, who was not hospitalized

SUBURBAN (NORTHERN) COOK COUNTY: An 80-year-old man, whose hospital information is not known; a 76-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 55-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 61-year-old man, who was not hospitalized; a 69-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 2-year-old girl, whose hospital information is not known; a 39-year-old woman with West Nile fever, whose hospital information is not known; a 37-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 55-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 30-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 79-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; a 58-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; an 83-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile fever; and a 32-year-old man, whose hospital information is not known.

SUBURBAN (SOUTHERN) COOK COUNTY: A 21-year-old woman, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; a 33-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; a 34-year-old man, who was hospitalized; a 73-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known; a 65-year-old woman, who was hospitalized; a 51-year-old man, who was hospitalized; a 42-year-old woman with West Nile encephalitis, who was not hospitalized; an 82-year-old woman, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; a 60-year-old man, who was hospitalized; 62-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis; and a 37-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known.

CRAWFORD: A 61-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis.

EFFINGHAM COUNTY: A 77-year-old woman with West Nile fever, who was not hospitalized.

KANE COUNTY: A 47-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile encephalitis.

LAKE COUNTY: A 53-year-old woman with West Nile fever, who was not hospitalized.

ST. CLAIR COUNTY: A 39-year-old man, whose hospital information is not known; and a 67-year-old woman, whose hospital information is not known.

STEPHENSON COUNTY: A 41-year-old man with West Nile encephalitis, who was not hospitalized.

WILL COUNTY: A 41-year-old man, who was hospitalized with West Nile fever.

Human cases have been identified in Chicago and 21 Illinois counties: Chicago (47), Clinton County (1), suburban Cook County (116), Crawford County (1), DeKalb County (1), DuPage County (9), Effingham County (3), Ford County (1), Jackson County (2), Kane County (1), Lake County (1), LaSalle County (3), Macoupin County (1), Madison County (4), Montgomery County (1), Moultrie County (1), Sangamon County (1), Shelby County (1), Stark County (1), Stephenson County (1), St. Clair County (6) and Will County (8). The average age of the Illinois cases is 55.1.

[dark_lord]

Again, as an Illinois resident, who cares. Almost any other cause at all causes more deaths than WNV.

[JustAnAmerican]

"Again, as an Illinois resident, who cares. Almost any other cause at all causes more deaths than WNV"

Never ceases to amaze me how people just pass, what could and most likely will be, a devastating epidemic, off as just a low grade virus. When this thing first started a couple of years ago, we were told that there would hardly be any additional cases. Looks like we passed that stage a few months ago. Personally I am still not convinced that WNV wasn't deliberately introduced to the USA by a foreign source.

[Pure Country]

My 29 year old son has just had a spinal tap and we are waiting for results from the state on if he has spinal meningitis, encephalitis or West Nile Virus. Not a good choice any way you look at it. He is in extreme pain and was on morphine--which wasn't helping at all. Today he is finally, after 5 days, feeling a little relief.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Every day, hundreds of Illinoisans get the flu. How can we know that there aren't more (maybe a lot more) cases of West Nile out there that never go to a doctor because they aren't severe enough?

[Kozak]

Every day, hundreds of Illinoisans get the flu. How can we know that there aren't more (maybe a lot more) cases of West Nile out there that never go to a doctor because they aren't severe enough?

What difference does it make? If they didn't get sick enough to be harmed, and there is no specific treatment for the illness, why test other then for epidemiological tracking? This disease is here to stay. We might as well get used to it.

[BigBobber]

This disease is here to stay. We might as well get used to it.

Yeah, like we got used to polio and small pox. Medical science will never whip this one. We might as well give up. That's the American way.

[DUMBGRUNT]

Just how is it that you can get WNV but not AIDS, from a bug?

[who knows what evil?]

Just how is it that you can get WNV but not AIDS, from a bug?

One is a politicaaly-correct virus; the other is not. (Personally, I believe AIDS could be transmitted by a mosquito...why not?)

[Kozak]

Yeah, like we got used to polio and small pox. Medical science will never whip this one. We might as well give up. That's the American way.

Hey I'm not stating we will never have a treatment, but until we do there is no point in whipping up a frenzy about it. On the scale of relative threats to health its 1 on scale of 10.

[I'mAllRightJack]

Kozak: This disease is here to stay. We might as well get used to it.

BigBobber: Yeah, like we got used to polio and small pox. Medical science will never whip this one. We might as well give up. That's the American way.

May I point out the following chemical has been very successfully used:

DDT

[Las Vegas Dave]

Personally I am still not convinced that WNV wasn't deliberately introduced to the USA by a foreign source.

My wife is in medicine, she and her coworkers have thought the same thing!

[Kozak]

Actually DDT was very successful if getting rid of the endemic Malaria and Yellow fever in big chunks of the US. Now that we have our beloved wetlands (mosquito generation stations) it will be interesting to see the battle between the environmental left and the senior citizens ( most at risk of a bad outcome here)

[realpatriot71]

Just how is it that you can get WNV but not AIDS, from a bug?

Not to nitpick, but you would get HIV not AIDS from the mosquito. Anyway, WNV and HIV are two different types of viruses, you can think of them as being analogous to two different species. HIV doesn't do well outside of the body, nor does it do well in the body of a mosquito. Most of your mosquito born viruses have evolved a rather interesting relationship with the mosquito that allows for their transmission from host to host (if you'd like more info on this, and it's fasciniating, I'll dig it up for you). HIV doesn't need this - humans seem to manage to have enough sex and shoot up enough drugs to pass the virus along just fine.

From the CDC:
"If HIV were being transmitted through other routes (such as through air, water, or insects), the pattern of reported AIDS cases would be much different from what has been observed. For example, if mosquitoes could transmit HIV infection, many more young children and preadolescents would have been diagnosed with AIDS."

[DUMBGRUNT]

"For example, if mosquitoes could transmit HIV infection, many more young children and preadolescents would have been diagnosed with AIDS."

Thank you for taking the time to answer, this is something I have been wondering about.

[DUMBGRUNT]

From CDC link:
Insects

From the onset of the HIV epidemic, there has been concern about transmission of the virus by biting and bloodsucking insects. However, studies conducted by researchers at CDC and elsewhere have shown no evidence of HIV transmission through insects--even in areas where there are many cases of AIDS and large populations of insects such as mosquitoes. Lack of such outbreaks, despite intense efforts to detect them, supports the conclusion that HIV is not transmitted by insects.

The results of experiments and observations of insect biting behavior indicate that when an insect bites a person, it does not inject its own or a previously bitten person’s or animal’s blood into the next person bitten. Rather, it injects saliva, which acts as a lubricant or anticoagulant so the insect can feed efficiently. Such diseases as yellow fever and malaria are transmitted through the saliva of specific species of mosquitoes. However, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect and, unlike organisms that are transmitted via insect bites, HIV does not reproduce (and does not survive) in insects. Thus, even if the virus enters a mosquito or another sucking or biting insect, the insect does not become infected and cannot transmit HIV to the next human it feeds on or bites. HIV is not found in insect feces.

There is also no reason to fear that a biting or bloodsucking insect, such as a mosquito, could transmit HIV from one person to another through HIV-infected blood left on its mouth parts. Two factors serve to explain why this is so--first, infected people do not have constant, high levels of HIV in their bloodstreams and, second, insect mouth parts do not retain large amounts of blood on their surfaces. Further, scientists who study insects have determined that biting insects normally do not travel from one person to the next immediately after ingesting blood. Rather, they fly to a resting place to digest this blood meal.

[Trust but Verify]

Personally I am still not convinced that WNV wasn't deliberately introduced to the USA by a foreign source.

As much as it pains me to say it, you are not the first or only person to entertain this thought. I must ask you then, "For what purpose?" To make a few people sick and even fewer, mostly old people, die? Sorry for the skepticism, but there are a million other things far more deadly that a 'foreign source' could introduce than WNV.

[realpatriot71]

Thank you for taking the time to answer, this is something I have been wondering about.

Not a problem :-)

[steve-b]

Personally I am still not convinced that WNV wasn't deliberately introduced to the USA by a foreign source.

Why the devil would an enemy go to the trouble merely to introduce a disease that has so little effect?

[Trust but Verify]

Don't you just love it? Do you think these people look under their beds every night for the bogeyman?