An education campaign is underway in the Western Hemisphere to warn about the dangers of contracting the West Nile virus, which in its severest form can cause meningitis, encephalitis, and death.
The campaign by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) responds to the growing risk in the Americas of catching the virus. PAHO said in an August 14 statement that West Nile is "progressing" in the Western Hemisphere, in Africa, and in the Middle East.
In that regard, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has its own education campaign against West Nile called "Fight the Bite," said in an August 15 update on the situation that 470 cases of West Nile virus have been reported in the United States so far in 2003. During 2002, 4,156 cases were reported in the United States, with 284 resulting deaths. The state of Illinois had 884 cases of West Nile in 2002 --- the highest number of US cases for the year --- followed by 614 cases in Michigan, 441 cases in Ohio, and 329 cases in Louisiana.
West Nile gets its name from the part of Uganda where the virus was first identified in 1937. Prior to 1999, the virus had only been identified in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. West Nile was first detected in the United States in 1999, when 62 cases and seven deaths from the virus were reported in the New York City area. Since then, West Nile has spread into Canada and Latin America.
The CDC is working with the US Geological Survey, the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, state wildlife agencies, and state and local health control agencies to track the occurrence of West Nile. In addition, the United States is also a partner with other countries in the Global Invasive Species Program, a public-private partnership that develops strategies to reduce the threat posed by invasive alien species such as the West Nile virus.
The CDC said mosquitoes become West Nile carriers by feeding on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then spread West Nile to humans and other animals when they bite. Avoiding mosquito bites is the best way to prevent contracting the virus, said the CDC. The agency also recommends cleaning out mosquitoes from the places where a person lives and works, and wearing protective clothing and applying insect repellents when outside.
The CDC said about one in 150 people infected with West Nile will develop severe illness, which may include high fever, headache, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
PAHO said the West Nile virus that has been spreading across the United States in 2003 is not confined to North America.
"We have to be concerned with mosquitoes that bite birds and humans," said PAHO's deputy director Joxel Garcia. "But you are going to find mosquitoes like that all through the entire Western Hemisphere. So one of the things in which we have to work very aggressively is to educate the people" to protect themselves.
The PAHO official has significant experience with combating West Nile virus from his former position as health commissioner for the state of Connecticut. Garcia said some groups will be more prone to suffering major complications from the virus --- particularly the very young, those in frail health, those whose immune systems are compromised, and the very old.
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