West Nile Outbreak Now Second-Worst Year Ever

Also: Meningitis death toll hits 19
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2012 6:00 PM CDT
West Nile Outbreak Now Second-Worst Year Ever
Dead mosquitos are lined up waiting to be sorted at the Dallas County mosquito lab in August.   (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Two developments of note on the West Nile and meningitis outbreaks:

  • West Nile: Nearly 300 new cases surfaced last week, bringing this year's total to 4,531 and making it the second-worst year ever. The death toll rose by 15 to 183. It's the highest number of cases since the total of 9,862 in 2003, reports Reuters. Texas remains the hardest-hit state.
  • Meningitis: Four more people died—two in Tennessee and one each in Florida and Virginia—bringing the death toll to 19, reports AP. That makes 247 cases in 15 states, all from an apparently contaminated steroid drug. The feds raided the Massachusetts company linked to the outbreak.
(More West Nile virus stories.)

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