Individual Article Review

Individual Article Review: West Nile Virus in Malheur County

Kristina Pace

HCS 457

July 8, 2013

Patti Mataxen

Individual Article Review: West Nile Virus in Malheur County

West Nile virus (WNv) is a seasonal epidemic that begins in the summer and typically continues into the fall. The virus is spread by mosquitos that have bitten an infected bird. The infected mosquito can infect humans, horses, and birds (Oregon Health Authority, 2013b). Although the virus can be potentially serious, it has been around for several years, which has given the community a chance to study and create preventative measures against infection.

According to the Oregon Health Authority (2013a), WNv was first reported in the state of Oregon in 2004. August 13th, 2004 marks the arrival of WNv to the state; a bird was the first to be documented as infected with the disease. Since 2004 there have been several documented cases of West Nile; in 2012 there were 12 documented cases of human infection, zero in either 2011 or 2010, and 12 cases in 2009. In 2006 the state of Oregon saw their highest rate of infection when they documented 73 human infections. The 2013 season started off early due to a mild winter and early summer with high temperatures. A local newspaper, the Daily Bulletin, reported: “Officials have already found two positive samples of the virus in the city - a dead bird and a sample of mosquitoes collected in the city of Ontario have been confirmed as positive for West Nile virus. The mosquitoes were collected from traps near Campus Avenue” (2013, para 2). WNv has been around for a while and continues to affect the community year after year.

The community is affected by the symptoms of WNv, which include fevers, headaches, stiff neck, stupor, and in extreme cases even tremors, convulsions, and paralysis. “Of those infected, one in five will have mild symptoms such as fever, headache and muscle aches; fewer people, approximately one in 150, will have more severe symptoms...