BATON ROUGE (AP) — The number of West Nile virus infections in Louisiana has reached 215, with 39 new cases reported this
past week.
No new deaths were added in the latest report. The death toll from the virus so far this year stands at 10.
Louisiana's health department says the state is experiencing its highest number of West Nile cases in years. And Hurricane
Isaac is getting some of the blame.
"Hurricane Isaac left behind a lot of water,
which, left standing, is a risk for mosquitoes breeding and swarming,"
Department
of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein said in a
news release. "In addition to that, fall is getting closer,
the weather is getting more pleasant, and people are spending more
time outdoors."
West Nile virus usually results in no symptoms. But it can cause West Nile fever, which produces flu-like symptoms. In some
cases it can cause neuroinvasive disease, which can result in paralysis, brain damage or death.
There were 11 new neuroinvasive disease
cases reported in Caddo, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Livingston,
Lincoln, Richland,
St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes. Ten of these cases are newly
reported infections, and one is a previously diagnosed case
that progressed into neuroinvasive disease.
There are 28 new West Nile Fever cases, from
Ascension, Caddo, Calcasieu, Concordia, DeSoto, East Baton Rouge,
Iberville,
Jefferson, Lafourche, Lafayette, Livingston, Orleans, Ouachita,
Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington
and West Baton Rouge parishes.
One of the 39 new cases is asymptomatic, from Calcasieu Parish. Infections that don't cause symptoms are typically detected
through blood donations or in the course of other routine medical tests.