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This report summarizes 2007 West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance data reported to CDC through ArboNET as of 3 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, November 13, 2007. A total of 43 states had reported 3,304 cases of human WNV illness to CDC (Figure, Table). A total of 1,803 (55%) cases for which such data were available occurred in males; median age of patients was 51 years (range: 1 month-97 years). Dates of illness onset ranged from January 8 to November 6; a total of 93 cases were fatal.

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A total of 286 presumptive West Nile viremic blood donors (PVDs) have been reported to ArboNET during 2007. Of these, 46 were reported from California; 40 from Texas; 24 from North Dakota; 21 from South Dakota; 20 from Colorado; 17 from Minnesota; 16 from Oklahoma; 13 each from Arizona, Mississippi, and Montana; 12 from Missouri; eight from Louisiana; seven from Ohio; five each from Iowa, Kentucky, and Utah; four from New Mexico; three each from Puerto Rico and Wyoming; two each from Indiana and Pennsylvania; and one each from Illinois, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Of the 286 PVDs, two persons (median age: 66 years [range: 60-71 years]) subsequently had neuroinvasive illness, and 59 persons (median age: 48 years [range: 16-79 years]) subsequently had West Nile fever.

In addition, 1,599 dead corvids and 473 other dead birds with WNV infection have been reported in 34 states and New York City during 2007. WNV infections have been reported in horses in 33 states; in four canines in Idaho, Mississippi, and Oregon; in 27 squirrels in California and Oregon; and in three unidentified animal species in Idaho and Montana. WNV seroconversions have been reported in 764 sentinel chicken flocks in 11 states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia) and Puerto Rico. A total of 7,772 WNV-positive mosquito pools have been reported from 36 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City.

Additional information about national WNV activity is available from CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/wesmile/index.htm and at http://wesmilemaps.usgs.gov.

TABLE. Number of human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) illness, by
state--United States, 2007*

                                                   Other
                 Neuroinvasive    West Nile      clinical/
                   diseases         fever       unspecified
State             ([dagger])     ([section])   ([paragraph])

Alabama               16              6              0
Arizona               39             22             24
Arkansas              13              6              0
California            151            213             7
Colorado              96             459             0
Connecticut            4              1              0
Delaware               1              0              0
Florida                3              0              0
Georgia               23             21              3
Idaho                  7             100             2
Illinois              55             25             13
Indiana               12              7              3
Iowa                  10             12              2
Kansas                13             26              0
Kentucky               3              0              0
Louisiana             20              9              0
Maryland               6              3              1
Massachusetts          3              3              0
Michigan              12              0              1
Minnesota             45             54              0
Mississippi           42             82              0
Missouri              56             12              0
Montana               37             160             0
Nebraska              18             126             0
Nevada                 1              6              4
New Jersey             1              0              0
New Mexico            38             22              0
New York              12              2              0
North Carolina         3              2              0
North Dakota          49             312             0
Ohio                  13              7              1
Oklahoma              51             40              1
Oregon                 7             19              0
Pennsylvania           5              4              0
Rhode Island           0              1              0
South Carolina         2              2              0
South Dakota          48             159             0
Tennessee              4              2              1
Texas                 114            30              0
Utah                  27             33              0
Virginia               2              1              0
Wisconsin              5              5              0
Wyoming               15             152            13

Total                1,082          2,146           76

                     Total
                  reportedto
State                CDC**         Deaths

Alabama               22              3
Arizona               85              1
Arkansas              19              1
California            371            16
Colorado              555             6
Connecticut            5              0
Delaware               1              0
Florida                3              1
Georgia               47              2
Idaho                 109             1
Illinois              93              4
Indiana               22              1
Iowa                  24              2
Kansas                39              2
Kentucky               3              0
Louisiana             29              0
Maryland              10              0
Massachusetts          6              0
Michigan              13              2
Minnesota             99              2
Mississippi           124             3
Missouri              68              2
Montana               197             4
Nebraska              144             3
Nevada                11              0
New Jersey             1              0
New Mexico            60              3
New York              14              2
North Carolina         5              0
North Dakota          361             2
Ohio                  21              2
Oklahoma              92              8
Oregon                26              0
Pennsylvania           9              0
Rhode Island           1              0
South Carolina         4              0
South Dakota          207             6
Tennessee              7              1
Texas                 144            10
Utah                  60              2
Virginia               3              0
Wisconsin             10              0
Wyoming               180             1

Total                3,304           93

* As of November 13, 2007.

([dagger]) Cases with neurologic manifestations (i.e., West
Nile meningitis, West Nile encephalitis, and West Nile myelitis).

([section]) Cases with no evidence of neuroinvasion.

([paragraph]) Illnesses for which sufficient clinical information
was not provided.

** Total number of human cases of WNV illness reported to ArboNET by
state and local health departments.

COPYRIGHT 2007 U.S. Government Printing Office
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

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PARIS (AFP) — World figure skating champion Brian Joubert of France is suffering from a debilitating unnamed virus that will lay him low for at least another 10 days, according to his adviser.

Joubert on Thursday pulled out of the Trophee Eric Bompard, the fourth in the six-leg Grand Prix figure skating series starting at Paris-Bercy on Friday, for health reasons.

After undergoing extensive medical examinations on Thursday, Joubert was diagnosed with a virus.

Didier Gailhaguet, Joubert’s adviser, said the skater was “suffering from a virus that causes low blood pressure, elevated heart beat and extreme fatigue.”

The virus also “paralyses” his muscles, Gailhaguet said, not naming the virus.

Joubert, …

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ATLANTA — A mutated version of a common cold virus has caused 10 deaths in the past 18 months, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

Adenoviruses usually cause respiratory infections that aren’t considered lethal. But a new variant has caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC officials don’t consider the mutation to be a cause for alarm for most people, and they’re not recommending any new precautions for the general public.

“It’s an uncommon infection,” said Dr. Larry Anderson, a CDC epidemiologist.

The illness made headlines in Texas earlier this year, when a so- called boot camp flu sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The most serious cases were blamed on the emerging virus, and one 19-year-old trainee died.

“What really got people’s attention is these are healthy young adults landing in the hospital and, in some cases, the ICU,” said Dr. John Su, an infectious diseases investigator with the CDC.

There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold and also trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.

Some adenoviruses have also been blamed for gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis and cystitis.

There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.

Some people who get infected by the new bug probably would not suffer symptoms, and some may just feel common cold symptoms. Sick people should see a doctor if they suffer a high fever or have trouble breathing, Anderson said.

In the CDC report, the earliest case of the mutated virus was found in an infant girl in New York City, who died last year. The child seemed healthy right after birth but then became dehydrated and lost appetite. She died 12 days after she was born.

Tests found that she been infected with a form of adenovirus, called Ad14, but with some little differences, Su said.

It’s not clear how the changes made it more lethal, said Linda Gooding, an Emory University researcher who specializes in adenoviruses.

Earlier this year, hundreds of trainees at Lackland became ill with respiratory infections. Tests showed a variety of adenoviruses in the trainees, but at least 106 — and probably more — had the mutated form of Ad14, including five who ended up in an intensive care unit

In April, Oregon health officials learned of a cluster of cases at a Portland-area hospital. They ultimately counted 31 cases, including seven who died with severe pneumonia. The next month, Washington state officials reported four hospitalized patients had the same mutated virus. One, who also had AIDS, died.

The Ad14 form of adenovirus was first identified in 1955. In 1969, it was blamed for a rash of illnesses in military recruits stationed in Europe, but it’s been detected rarely since then. But it seems to growing more common.

The strain accounted for 6 percent of adenovirus samples collected in 22 medical facilities in 2006, while none was seen the previous two years, according to a study published this month in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The new bug could have implications for the military. Other forms of adenoviruses have been a common cause of illness in recruits. Military officials are bringing back an adenovirus vaccine — administered as a pill — that was given to recruits from 1971 to 1999, CDC officials said.

A Barr Pharmaceuticals vaccine for the military, currently being tested, is expected to be licensed in 2009. Like the old pill, it focuses on adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7, because those bugs have been persistent problems, said Col. Art Brown, an Army physician involved in the product’s development.

Some CDC officials said a vaccination against the mutant Ad14 might be needed. Brown said it isn’t clear if the mutant Ad14 will be an enduring threat, but the military will monitor illness reports.

“If it persists, then we’d consider if the vaccine needs to be modified further,” said Brown, of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity.

On the Net: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: www.cdc.gov/ mmwr

Copyright C 2007 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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