2003 press releases can be found at http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/westnile/ . Below are short announcements that were posted on the website at the time of the release.
November 12, 2003
There were no new cases of WNV encephalitis, meningitis or acute flaccid paralysis reported. That leaves the state totals at 90 human cases (with an additional 731 presumptive cases), with 5 verified deaths and 2 unverified presumptive (still determining cause of death).
Of positive animal reports: there were 81 positive equine, 142 birds tested positive, and 45 positive mosquito pools.
According to the CDC website, the state with the highest positive human cases of West Nile Virus is Colorado, with 2477 (4 deaths), then Nebraska with 1698 (21 deaths), and third is South Dakota with 989 (13 deaths). For details on each state check out the CDC website : http://www.cdc.gov .
November 7, 2003
Total number of human cases of West Nile Virus meningitis/encephalitis/acute flaccid paralysis in the state of Kansas remains at 90. Number of horses testing positive is 82, positive birds is 142 and mosquito pools which tested positive is 45. A total of 91 Kansas counties have had positive test results.
November 3, 2003
Read the latest press release from KDHE. go to KDHE website.
October 31, 2003
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued two recent press releases pertaining to human cases of West Nile Virus encephalitis, meningitis or acute flaccid paralysis. The first deals with reports on a Pawnee resident, and a new case reported from Mitchell (October 22, 2003 press release), the second lists all recent cases and latest totals (including presumptive positives) -- read the October 24, 2003 press release.
Latest totals as reported to the CDC: 88 human cases of WNV encephalitis, meningitis or acute flaccid paralysis. 719 unverified presumptive positive WNV infections. Number of confirmed deaths: 5, with 2 presumptive deaths. There have been 142 birds, 75 horses, and 39 mosquito pools that have tested positive.
Nationwide, the CDC reports 7718 WNV cases (both mild and severe) with 166 deaths.
October 23, 2003
Four additional cases of West Nile Virus encephalitis, meningitis or acute flaccid paralysis have been confirmed by KDHE.
This is the first report of a human case of WNV encephalitis, meningitis or acute flaccid paralysis reported from Wyandotte county.
Nationwide the count of positive cases of West Nile Virus, including both mild and severe as reported to the CDC, stands at 7386 with 155 deaths.
October 20, 2003
Two more human deaths have been confirmed by CDC. A 44 year old from Sedgwick and an 94 year old from Pawnee. This brings the total number of deaths attributed to West Nile Virus up to 5 (in the state of Kansas). Nationwide, the number of cases is at 7328 and 153 deaths.
see below for previous reports.
October 16, 2003
Two more human cases have been reported, one each from Harvey and Marshall counties. Lyon county now has it's first reports of birds infected with west nile virus. With additional positives reported for other counties, the totals reported to the CDC stand as follows:
October 6, 2003
CDC reports 6,204 humans cases of West Nile Virus nationwide, with 127 death. Detailed information is available for 6124 cases:3995 cases (65%) were reported as West Nile Fever (milder disease), 1741 (28%) were reported as West Nile meningitis or encephalitis (severe disease) and 388 (7%) were clinically unspecified.
The State of Kansas reports 61 human cases of West Nile Virus encephalitis, meningitis or acute flaccid paralysis. In addition, unverified presumptive cases of west nile virus (those cases reported by commercial testing laboratories and not by KDHE labs) total 423 cases.
October 3, 2003
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is expanding its surveillance and reporting of West Nile Virus (WNV) cases in the state in an effort to provide more complete information on the spread of this infection. Currently the KDHE lab performs WNV test on patients where meningitis, encephalitis or acute flaccid paralysis symptoms are present. These cases, once confirmed, are reported to the CDC.
In addition, KDHE will publicly release information on unverified, presumptive WNV positive reults provided from commercial labs - where the samples were not submitted to KDHE for testing or because the patients did not have the severe clinical symptoms of WNV. KDHE will also release unverified, presumptive WNV deaths which were identified through death certificates where the coroner or physician indicates that WNV was the cause of death. Finally, they will publicly release results of the WNV screening program preformed in blood donation centers.
This newly release information is available, and will be updated on a weekly basis. Click here to view tables.
http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/westnile/
Five more cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis have been confirmed by the KDHE. These include cases from McPherson (2), Sedgwick (2) and Lyon Counties. This is the first positive report of WNV from Lyon county so far this year.
September 29, 2003
KDHE confirmed 4 more human cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis in the state of Kansas. The new cases have been reported from Dickinson, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Marion counties. review all releases from KDHE.
At present 83 of the 105 counties in Kansas have had confirmed WNV activity (human meningitis or encephalitis, mosquito pools or animal cases).
September 26, 2003
The KDHE has confirmed 8 more human cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis in Kansas. The additional cases are from the following counties: Harvey, Johnson, Mitchell, Phillips, Reno, Saline and Shawnee.
September 23, 2003
The total number of human cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis confirmed by KDHE is at 37, with one death. Counties where cases have been confirmed are: Barton, Butler, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Decatur, Ellis, Finney, Ford, Gray, Harvey, Hodgeman, Lane, Marshall, McPherson, Osborne, Pratt, Rush, Saline, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Sherman, Stafford, Thomas and Trego.
September 19, 2003
7 more human cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis were confirmed by KDHE, new counties reporting are Clay and Marshall.
In addition, Geary County had a positive mosquito pool reported. And a squirrel tested positive which had been collected in Morton county.
Nationwide count is up to 4325 with 81 deaths. Check out the CDC website for additional information.
September 18, 2003
Two addition human cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis were confirmed by KDHE. These include a 40 year old from Lane County, and a 54 year old from Clark County.
September 17, 2003
Three newly confirmed cases of WNV meningitis or encephalitis were reported by KDHE, bringing the total number of WNV meningitis or encephalitis cases in the state of Kansas up to 26. The recent cases are from Harvey, Trego and Stafford Counties.
West Nile virus meningitis and encephalitis confirmed case report numbers published by KDHE are based upon the results of confirmatory testing performed by the state Division of Health and Environmental Laboratories (DHEL). Such testing may be performed only at the request of a physician who is treating a patient with specific signs and symptoms of meningitis or encephalitis.
Nationwide counts: the CDC reports 3659 human cases with 67 deaths. These numbers reflect both mild and severe human disease cases that have been reported to ArboNet by state and local health departments during 2003. ArboNet is the national, electronic surveillance system established by CDC to assist states in tracking West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne viruses.
As of the above date, detailed information is available for 3490 cases: 2082 cases (60%) were reported as West Nile Fever (milder disease), 1009 (29%) were reported as West Nile meningitis or encephalitis (severe disease) and 399 (11%) were clinically unspecified.
September 4, 2003
Nationwide counts: the CDC reports a total of 2267 human cases of West Nile Virus, with 43 deaths.
As of the above date, detailed information is available for 2214 cases: 1257 cases (57%) were reported as West Nile Fever (milder disease), 723 (33%) were reported as West Nile meningitis or encephalitis (severe disease) and 234 (11%)were clinically unspecified.
August 28, 2003
Three more human cases of West Nile Virus have been confirmed:
Bringing the total to 17 human cases from 13 Kansas Counties, with one death. Nationwide the total is 1602 human cases with 28 deaths. Check out the CDC website for more info on human cases.
August 26, 2003
KDHE announced the confirmation of two more human cases of West Nile Virus: from Sedgwick county, a 49 year old with symptoms of encephalitis and from Thomas county, a 25 year old with symptoms of meningitis. New total: 14 human cases of encephalitis or meningitis in Kansas so far this year.
August 25, 2003
2 additional human cases of West Nile Virus have been confirmed: from Seward County, 57 Year old was hospitalized; from Barton County, 11 year old, was hospitalized.
August 25, 2003
The 2003 WNV season is well underway, with activity reported in almost all of the continental states, with only Nevada, Oregon and Idaho not reporting any activity in 2003. Washington had reported last week their first probable human (locally acquired) that was being confirmed by the CDC. New states reporting activity in 2003 are Arizona (mosquitoes and horse), Utah (sentinel chickens, mosquitoes, and horses) and California (mosquitoes and probably sentinel chickens).
Based on Arbonet reports and state website information, over 800 human cases have been reported in 32 states. In addition, almost 3300 birds from 39 states and over 700 horses from 31 states have been reported. In addition to the U.S., Canada is reporting WNV activity in 6 provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and New Brunswick). Canada recently reported a human case in Nova Scotia that was likely acquired while the person was travelling in Colorado. check out the CDC website for additional information.
Oklahoma State Department of Health confirmed 11 human cases in the state of Oklahoma http://www.health.state.ok.us/program/cdd/ow/posmap03.html .
August 22, 2003
The KDHE reported another human case in Kansas: an 83 year old from Sherman County was hospitalized and is currently in rehabilitation. That brings the total to 10 human cases so far this year. http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/westnile/
August 21, 2003
The KDHE reported the first human death in Kansas attributed to West Nile Virus. A 93 year old from Butler county had signs of encepahlitis, and died. This is the first death attributed to West Nile Virus in Kansas.
That brings the total to 9 human cases in Kansas, from the following counties: Butler, Cloud, Decatur, Ford, Gray, Pratt, Seward and Sherman.
A total of 60 counties in Kansas has now had positive test results from either birds, horses, mosquitoes or humans.
No more birds will be collected from the following counties: Barton, Butler, Clay, Decatur, Dickinson, Ellis, Ford, Franklin, Grant, Gray, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, McPherson, Mitchell, Nemaha, Ness, Reno, Riley, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Thomas, and Washington. You may report dead birds from these counties to the KU website for data purposes at the following website: http://www.nhm.ku.edu/birds .
August 20, 2003
Additional human cases have been verified in Kansas, bringing the total to 8.
August 19, 2003
KDHE has reported three more human cases of West Nile Virus in Kansas, in Decatur, Cloud and Pratt counties.
August 18, 2003
There have been 5 confirmed human cases of West Nile Virus in Kansas as of this date. The most recent case involved a 62 year old from Seward county, who is now recovering at home. The other cases include two from Gray, 1 in Sherman and one in Ford counties. All human cases are recovering, there are no deaths in Kansas due to West Nile Virus.
Mosquito pools have tested positively in the following counties: Crawford, Ford, Riley and Seward.
Additional equine cases from Cowley and Marion Counties.
Additional positives from birds are recorded from the following counties: Morton, Rush, Saline and Sedgwick Counties.
August 7, 2003
The following counties have had positive test results reported: horses from Scott and Jackson counties; birds from Harvey, Jefferson, Mitchell, McPherson and Pottawatomie.
August 5, 2003
Additional positive tests have been reported: 1 horse from Decatur county and birds collected from Dickinson, Douglas, Ford, Franklin, Graham, Jackson, Norton, Phillips, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Thomas and Washington counties. Total counties in Kansas with positive results: 32.
CDC reports postive results from 38 states, including humans cases in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.
August 1, 2003
KDHE today confirmed the first known case of West Nile Virus meningitis in Kansas. The 38 year old was from Gray County and first had signs of meningitis July 20. The patient is recovering.
Positive results from horses have been reported from Allen, Dickinson, Rooks, and McPherson Counties. Additional positive bird tests from Dickinson and Gray counties (no more birds will be collected from these two counties. That brings the total to 24 positive counties, 17 with bird, 1 Mosquito pool and 6 with positive horses.
June 26, 2003
A pool of Culex tarsalis mosquitoes collected on 5/28/03 in Crawford County (Southeast Kansas) was confirmed positive for WNV using PCR. This is the first WNV activity reported in Kansas in 2003.
June 20, 2003
NEBRASKA: Lincoln—Test results on a dead crow collected by Lincoln Animal Control in south central Lincoln in late May indicate the first bird in Nebraska to test positive for West Nile virus this year.
TEXAS : There have been 6 positive dead birds, 3 suspect WNV mosquito pools and 3 suspect SLE mosquito pools.
OKLAHOMA : A female foal in eastern Oklahoma is the first confirmed case of WNV infection in 2003, officials said on Jun 9.