Published Date: 2003-09-16 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> West Nile virus, crow - USA (CA)
Archive Number: 20030916.2344

WEST NILE VIRUS, CROW - USA (CALIFORNIA)
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Mon 15 Sep 2003
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Press Enterprise online, Mon 15 Sep 2003 [edited]
<http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_West_Nile_Virus_118182C.shtml>

California: West Nile virus infected crow found in Los Angeles County
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A dead crow found in the suburbs east of Los Angeles tested positive for
West Nile virus, health officials said on Mon 15 Sep 2003. The crow, found
in the San Gabriel Valley, was submitted for testing on 3 Sep 2003. It was
the first time the virus has been found in a [vertebrate] animal in Los
Angeles County, home to nearly 10 million people. Virus infected mosquitoes
have been discovered in Imperial and Riverside counties.
No locally acquired human cases have been reported in California in 2003,
although 2 women came down with the disease in Alameda County. Health
officials said they contracted the virus while traveling out of state. In
2002, California officials reported a lone case in a Los Angeles woman, who
recovered. It remains unclear how she was infected.
People get the virus from mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. Most
people suffer mild flu-like symptoms at worst and many display no symptoms.
The virus rarely kills, but in rare cases it can lead to deadly
inflammation of the brain. Since the virus was first detected in the United
States in 1999, it has spread steadily south and west. As of Mon 15 Sep
2003, there have been 3541 human cases of West Nile virus infection
nationwide in 2003, including 66 that ended in death, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (<http://westnile.ca.gov/>).
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ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[This is the first confirmed report of West Nile virus infection of an
indigenous vertebrate in the state of California. Cases of West Nile virus
infection in the human population may not now be long delayed. - Mod.CP]

See Also

West Nile virus update 2003 - USA (24) 20030911.2289
West Nile virus, mosquitoes - USA (CA) 20030821.2105
West Nile virus, human - USA (CA ex CO) 20030816.2051
2002
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West Nile virus, human -USA (CA) (05): final confi... 20020913.5295
West Nile virus, human - USA (CA) (04) 20020913.5293
West Nile virus, human - USA (CA) (03): confirmed 20020912.5286
West Nile virus, human - USA (CA) (02) 20020909.5265
West Nile virus, human - USA (CA): suspected 20020906.5247
...................mpp/cp/pg/sh
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