West Nile Cases Hit 500 Statewide

By Bill Johnson Published Sep 4, 2005 10:15 am Updated Jan 31, 2009 02:31 pm

Sacramento, CA — The number of West Nile virus in California this year has topped the 500 mark, with 28 new instances of the disease in Sacramento, Yolo and Placer counties.

Last year, the state counted 830 cases of West Nile. The virus is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. About 80 percent of those infected will show no symptoms and only about one percent of those infected require hospitalization.

While the spread of the virus has followed the same pattern as last year, health officials said they cannot predict if the number of cases will escalate. Last year, the peak of the infections was during the first week of September.

There have been no deaths reported from West Nile in California since August 26th, when a Sacramento County man and a woman in the Fresno area both died from complications brought on by the infection.

Currently, the death toll for this year stands at 8. The virus killed 28 in California last year.