West Nile Scarce In Tennessee
A state health official says that despite a much higher rate of infection among mosquito samples from Shelby County, there have been only eight human West Nile cases documented so far this year statewide.
While that number is twice the total of all of last year’s confirmed cases, it doesn’t track the increased severity of infection found in mosquitoes.
Tennessee Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Abelardo Moncayo said Wednesday that more than 70 percent of the samples of mosquitoes trapped in Shelby County during August were positive for West Nile. That compared with a high of 30 percent last year.
There have been no deaths reported among patients with the disease this year, but Moncayo expects to get reports of additional people who contract it.
