Both the number of cases of human West Nile virus (WNV) and chikungunya in the United States have gone over 1,000, according to the newest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments.
The CDC reports that as of September 23, a total of 46 states and the District of Columbia have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes. Overall, 979 cases of West Nile virus disease in people have been reported to CDC. Of these, 544 (56%) were classified as neuroinvasive disease (such as meningitis or encephalitis) and 435 (44%) were classified as non-neuroinvasive disease. 34 deaths were reported by the CDC.
However, The CDC numbers have the state of California at 310 cases and 10 deaths. The California Department of Public Health reported Tuesday evening that they have seen 65 additional human WNV cases and five fatalities. This would put the national total over 1,000.
The number of imported chikungunya cases in the US have also topped the 1,000 mark as the federal health agency reports 1,114, plus 11 locally acquired cases from Florida.
New York continues to record the most travel associated chikungunya cases (259) and only five states are still chikungunya free.
A total of 492 chikungunya virus disease cases have been reported to ArboNET from U.S. territories. Four hundred and sixty-three locally-transmitted cases have been reported from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The remaining 29 cases occurred in travelers returning from other affected areas in the Americas.
For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
2 thoughts on “West Nile virus, chikungunya in the United States update”