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Backgrounder |
Kansas City Surveillance Data
Other Local Health Agencies
Physician Information |
West Nile Virus Facts
Backgrounder
West Nile Virus (WNV) has emerged in recent years in temperate regions of Europe and North America, presenting a threat to public, equine, and animal health. The most serious manifestation of WNV infection is the fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in humans and horses, as well as mortality in certain domestic and wild birds.
WNV was first isolated from a febrile adult woman in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937. The ecology was characterized in Egypt in the 1950’s. The virus became recognized as a cause of severe human meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the spinal cord and brain) in elderly patients during an outbreak in Israel in 1957. Equine disease was first noted in Egypt and France in the early 1960’s. The appearance of WNV in Northern America in 1999, with encephalitis reported in humans and horses, may be an important milestone in the evaluating history of this virus.
WNV was recently discovered in the United States. Although the specific date of introduction will never be known, the presence of the disease was first noted in 1999. The first outbreak occurred in Queens N.Y., New York City and was confined to an area within a 75-mile radius. That year, of the 62 people who were hospitalized with symptoms associate with the central nervous system, seven died. Thousands of birds were affected by disease, but only nine infected horses were reported that year.
The following year, it was obvious that the disease survived its first winter in the United States as it spread down the east coast, making its presence known in 12 states, while the incidence in humans decreased considerably to 20 cases and only two deaths.
During 2001, WNV became much more widely spread and was reported in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Fifty human cases and five deaths were reported. The median age of those affected was 70 years, meaning that the elderly population seems to be more susceptible to the disease.
Additional concerns are the impact of the disease on bird populations and the significant health threat it poses to horses. Besides humans and horses, 162 species of birds and 32 species of mosquitoes have been found infected with the virus. A variety of other mammals and retiles have become infected include bats, cats, rabbits and dogs.
In the U.S. from 1999 through December 23, 2002, Nevada was the only state that did not report a local case or an imported case, a person or horse that came into the state from another state after being infected, of West Nile virus.
People are infected with WNV from a mosquito bite; many of those who became ill have an infection of the nervous system. Symptoms include fever, headache and body ache, often with skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severeh infections may manifest themselves with a headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. The disease is only fatal in 3% to 15% of all cases and the highest fatality rates are in the elderly and those with impaired immune systems.
News From City Hall
07/01/2003 West Nile Virus in Kansas City (Correction)
06/30/2003 West Nile Virus in Kansas City
West Nile Virus Surveillance Data
The decision of the TaskForce was that monitoring and testing of dead wild birds would be discontinued. WNV is now an endemic mosquito transmitted pathogen in the Kansas City metropolitan area. This means that the potential for veterinary and human cases of WNV will exist each year.
Dead bird surveillance is extremely labor intensive to handle the reports from citizens as well as to collect and submit the birds for testing. Further, public reporting in 2003 dropped drastically once it was announced the Health Department would no longer be testing dead birds. This, in turn, led to the dead crow/blue jay indexes becoming essentially useless since they are based on the number of dead birds being reported.
Historical Surveillance Data
West Nile Virus 2002 Annual Report (requires Adobe Acrobat)
2002 Surveillance Review
2001 Surveillance Review
09/09/2002 Update of Preliminary West Nile Virus Cases in Missouri
Archive - Dead Crow Index Reports and Surveillance Map
To report dead birds, mosquito problems or standing water problems outside of Kansas City, Missouri call your local health departments.
The following is a list of local health departments in the metro area:
Cass County, MO -- 816-380-8425
Clay County, MO -- 816-476-4114
Independence, MO -- 816-325-7297
Jackson County, MO -- 816-404-6415
Johnson County, KS -- 913-826-1200
Kansas Department of Health & Environment -- 1-866-452-7810
Platte County, MO -- 816-858-2412
Wyandotte County, KS -- 913-573-6712
Physician Information
West Nile Virus Infection - Health Alert #35
West Nile Virus Facts (all fact sheets requires Adobe Acrobat)
Kansas City, Missouri Health Department Fact Sheet
What
is West Nile Virus?
Prevention of West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus and Animals
Symptoms, Testing and Treatment of West Nile Virus
Transmission of West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus Powerpoint presentation (Self-Extracting Winzip file)
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