West Nile
August 3, 2012
It’s been a quiet season so far for West Nile Virus in North Dakota but the mosquito borne illness is showing some signs of life. The North Dakota Health Department has tested 102 people for WNV this Summer – all came back negative. However this past week they did identify West Nile in two horses….one in Burleigh County and the other from Cass County. The department’s Michelle Feist says they also found West Nile in two donated pints of blood. The Culex Tarsalis mosquito tends to peak in August and is the prime carrier of WNV. Nationwide 241 human cases have been identified – including four deaths. Feist says North Dakota has identified a human case of WNV every year since 2002 with 617 cases occurring in 2003.