West Nile Virus 2012 Summary

The Pennsylvania West Nile Virus program is announcing the final mosquito and avian positivity counts for 2012 and national ranking. (Updates to the human/equine case counts are included. The latest human case (25th) is a death from Philadelphia County.)
Testing Results
• Pennsylvania- 25 human cases (28th in Nation)
• Pennsylvania- 47 veterinary samples (3rd in Nation)
• Pennsylvania- 3,409 infected mosquito samples (2nd in Nation)
• Pennsylvania- 134 infected avian samples (3rd in Nation)
Surveillance and Control
• Pennsylvania- 75,183 mosquito control events
• Pennsylvania- 28,621 samples taken
Public participation
• Pennsylvania- 2,056 complaints received
• Pennsylvania- 156 educational events
• Pennsylvania- 697 reported dead birds
The PA West Nile Virus program would like to thank all WNV partners and the broad public participation for the tremendous effort this year. It was because of this effort that kept the human case count 28th in the nation and not 2nd or 3rd.
Please check back to the website as it will be continuously updated with new human or equine cases discovered by the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture.
CONTACT(S): Amanda Witman Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection Phone: 717-787-1323 Email: awitman@pa.gov Holli Senior Pennsylvania Dept. of Health Phone: 717-787-1783 Email: hsenior@pa.gov Nicole Bucher Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture Phone: 717-787-5085 Email: nbucher@pa.gov Link to this release

First Veterinary Positive for West Nile Virus in 2012

The West Nile Virus program is reporting the euthanization of a horse due to an active case of West Nile in Northampton County. This case heralds the arrival of West Nile Virus in 2012 and is the earliest report of a horse illness since the disease reached Pennsylvania in 2000. This case also serves as a reminder to vaccinate horses against West Nile Virus. Program staff will conduct surveillance and necessary control measures to reduce the risk of further WNV transmission. The WNV program will begin the full-time monitoring, controlling and testing of mosquitoes in April. Collection and testing of dead birds begins May 1 and can be reported on www.westnile.state.pa.us or by calling (717) 346-8238.

Contact: Kevin Sunday, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, at 717-787-1323 or kesunday@pa.gov