NurseWeek

West Nile virus infiltrates Pennsylvania

By Tim Bergling
September 28, 2000


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Washington (H24N). Pennsylvania has joined the ranks of states playing reluctant host to the West Nile virus. The state health department confirmed yesterday that two dead crows have tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus, the first time West Nile has shown up in Pennsylvania since the virus appeared on U.S. shores in 1999. Health officials there were quick to point out that there have been no cases of humans contracting the virus.

"The risk of contracting West Nile encephalitis remains low," said Robert S. Zimmerman, Pennsylvania Health secretary. "Still, we all should do everything we can to prevent the spread of this virus." Zimmerman is asking residents to reduce their risk of exposure by eliminating standing water where mosquitoes breed. And he says residents who come upon dead birds – especially crows – should contact state health officials by telephoning 877-PA HEALTH.

In 1999 62 people, most of them from the New York area, fell ill from the virus, which is spread to humans by mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. Seven of those cases were fatal. This year there have been 11 human cases, all them in the New York area, but none of them fatal.

About one in 300 people becomes seriously ill from exposure to West Nile. Symptoms include fever, severe headaches, eye pain, drowsiness, enlargement of lymph nodes and muscle weakness. The virus can lead to an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, and can also cause encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain itself. The elderly and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk.

Pennsylvania is the seventh state this year to detect West Nile. Besides New York, the virus has also been detected in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are recommending that residents in the affected states take proper precautions, such as repairing window screens to keep mosquitoes out and wearing insect repellent when outdoors.