West Nile virus update 2009 - Western Hemisphere (02):
Date: Sat 22 Aug 2009
Source: MacLeans.ca [edited]
<http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=n211162016>
Two people in British Columbia are being tested for West Nile virus,
which has been detected in the province for the 1st time, the BC
Centre for Disease Control said Saturday [22 Aug 2009].
Epidemiologist Dr. Bonnie Henry said the 2 adults are from the same
family in the Okanagan, near where a group of mosquitoes were found
to have the virus. Henry said test results on the 2 residents will be
available Monday or Tuesday [24 or 25 Aug 2009].
"If these people are confirmed to be true cases of West Nile virus,
they will be the 1st ones in Canada this year [2009]," she said. "We
have expected this migration of the virus into B.C., likely from the
south rather than the east, as this (virus) moved across the
continent." In Washington state, 207 groups of mosquitoes have tested
positive for West Nile this year [2009], and 7 birds and 12 horses
have been infected, Henry said.
She said all previously recorded cases of West Nile virus in B.C. had
been acquired outside the province, but the 2 people being tested had
travelled only within the Okanagan. They showed various symptoms that
may have included fever, headache, eye pain, muscle weakness and a
rash, Henry said.
About 80 per cent of people who have contracted the virus have no
symptoms and are immune to it. She said about one in 100 to 150 of
those infected with the virus have much more serious illness, such as
polio-like paralysis, encephalitis (which is swelling of the brain),
or meningitis, resulting in an infection of the lining of the brain.
"So we are obviously very concerned that people know what measures to
take to try and protect themselves from this virus." People over 50
and those with a weakened immune system are more likely to be more
seriously affected by West Nile.
Henry said recent high temperatures in B.C., combined with earlier
rain that allowed the number of mosquitoes to build up, along with
sufficient numbers of birds to carry the virus to the pests are some
reasons it showed up in the province this year [2009]. She said that
besides the south Okanagan, people living in the Kootenay areas that
border on Idaho and Alberta are at higher risk of being bitten by a
mosquito, followed by the agricultural area of the Fraser Valley. But
there's not much concern about the northern parts of the province
because of a lack of mosquitoes there, Henry said.
Dr. Paul Hasselback, the Interior Health Authority's medical health
officer for the central and south Okanagan, said several sites in the
south Okanagan are being looked at for West Nile virus but that
surveillance will be increased starting next week. He said it's
important for people to limit the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes,
which transmit the virus after feeding on the blood of infected
birds. Hasselback advised wearing long clothing, using an insect
repellent and avoiding being outside around dusk and dawn when pests
are more prevalent.
<http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=n211162016>
Two people in British Columbia are being tested for West Nile virus,
which has been detected in the province for the 1st time, the BC
Centre for Disease Control said Saturday [22 Aug 2009].
Epidemiologist Dr. Bonnie Henry said the 2 adults are from the same
family in the Okanagan, near where a group of mosquitoes were found
to have the virus. Henry said test results on the 2 residents will be
available Monday or Tuesday [24 or 25 Aug 2009].
"If these people are confirmed to be true cases of West Nile virus,
they will be the 1st ones in Canada this year [2009]," she said. "We
have expected this migration of the virus into B.C., likely from the
south rather than the east, as this (virus) moved across the
continent." In Washington state, 207 groups of mosquitoes have tested
positive for West Nile this year [2009], and 7 birds and 12 horses
have been infected, Henry said.
She said all previously recorded cases of West Nile virus in B.C. had
been acquired outside the province, but the 2 people being tested had
travelled only within the Okanagan. They showed various symptoms that
may have included fever, headache, eye pain, muscle weakness and a
rash, Henry said.
About 80 per cent of people who have contracted the virus have no
symptoms and are immune to it. She said about one in 100 to 150 of
those infected with the virus have much more serious illness, such as
polio-like paralysis, encephalitis (which is swelling of the brain),
or meningitis, resulting in an infection of the lining of the brain.
"So we are obviously very concerned that people know what measures to
take to try and protect themselves from this virus." People over 50
and those with a weakened immune system are more likely to be more
seriously affected by West Nile.
Henry said recent high temperatures in B.C., combined with earlier
rain that allowed the number of mosquitoes to build up, along with
sufficient numbers of birds to carry the virus to the pests are some
reasons it showed up in the province this year [2009]. She said that
besides the south Okanagan, people living in the Kootenay areas that
border on Idaho and Alberta are at higher risk of being bitten by a
mosquito, followed by the agricultural area of the Fraser Valley. But
there's not much concern about the northern parts of the province
because of a lack of mosquitoes there, Henry said.
Dr. Paul Hasselback, the Interior Health Authority's medical health
officer for the central and south Okanagan, said several sites in the
south Okanagan are being looked at for West Nile virus but that
surveillance will be increased starting next week. He said it's
important for people to limit the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes,
which transmit the virus after feeding on the blood of infected
birds. Hasselback advised wearing long clothing, using an insect
repellent and avoiding being outside around dusk and dawn when pests
are more prevalent.
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