FIRST HUMAN CASE OF WNV CONFIRMED
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 -- 12:26 PM
The state's first human case of West Nile Virus this year has been confirmed in Portage County, and while Clark County hasn?t had any human cases, it is one of 44 counties where dead birds have tested positive for the disease and one of only two counties where horses have tested positive.Officials with the State Department of Health and Family Services say an unidentified woman contracted the illness. She didn't require hospitalization and made a full recovery.
The virus was first detected in 2002 with 53 human cases in the state.
According to government websites, Wisconsin has had three horses test positive for the virus this year ? two of those horses were in Clark County.
Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture ? Animal Health Division have not returned calls, but it appears the cases were confirmed this month.
The CDC reports most WNV infected humans have no symptoms. A small proportion develops mild symptoms that include fever, headache, body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Less than 1% of infected people develop more severe illness.
On the Web:
[url=http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm]CDC West Nile site[/url]
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