Crow in Oregon tests positive for West Nile

The Associated Press

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Oregon had been among a few states where West Nile had not yet surfaced.

Nationwide, West Nile infected more than 9,300 people last year, killing 244, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's more than double the number of cases reported in 2002, although fatalities remained steady. The higher case numbers may be due to increased surveillance, the CDC said.

The disease first hit the nation in New York in 1999, and has been progressing west ever since.

It is carried into new states by infected birds, which become hosts for local mosquitoes. Those bugs spread the disease to humans.

The virus is harmful to humans, some mammals, and horses, which are particularly susceptible to the illness - 30 percent of horses infected with the virus die.

There are no drugs or vaccines to treat West Nile in humans, but there is some progress.

Most humans who develop West Nile suffer mild symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches; the vast majority of those infected never know they are because symptoms are so mild.

The more severe forms of the disease, however, can cause high fever, neck stiffness, coma, tremors, muscle weakness, paralysis and permanent neurological damage, in addition to death. Elderly people are most vulnerable to the virus.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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