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By Jonathan Partridge Patterson Irrigator
Patterson Irrigator
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 2005
MODESTO — It’s only July, and nine Stanislaus County residents
already have been diagnosed with West Nile virus, while another two people
in the state have died from the disease.
Last week, state representatives met with local officials to learn what
is being done to combat the disease locally and what the state can do
to help.
Most attendees, who met at the county executive offices in Modesto on
July 28, concluded that state and local agencies have done a good job
of cooperating to battle the virus, though more work needs to be done.
“This is not one of those issues that knows regional or jurisdictional
boundaries,” said Gary Hinshaw, assistant director of the Stanislaus
County Office of Emergency Services.
West Nile virus, common in Africa and the Middle East, has gradually
spread across North America since it was first found in the United States
near New York City in 1999.
The virus, which is transmitted to mosquitoes from infected birds and
can spread to horses and people through bites from infected mosquitoes,
causes serious symptoms in less than 1 percent of people who are infected
and has a mortality rate of 30 percent to 40 percent in horses.
About 20 percent of people who get the virus will experience flu-like
symptoms, and most will experience no symptoms at all. But about one in
150 cases leads to swelling in or around the brain that can sometimes
lead to death.
People typically develop symptoms from two to 15 days after being bitten
by an infected mosquito.
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