“I don’t know if she is going to be permanently crippled or paralyzed or memory loss, and there’s a thing on the back of her eye.”-Ebonie Conner, mother of West Nile virus victim

14 October 2012, an Arlington, Texas, teenager has become sick for a second time.  The 17 years old girl first got sick in August, was showing signs of recovery, but has relapsed.

The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) stated that the number of cases has exceeded the West Nile outbreak of 2003.   As of 09 October, 4,249 cases have been reported to the CDC.  At least 168 people have died.  Half of all cases are the more severe neuroinvasive diseases, such as meningitis or encephalitis.

Nearly 70% of cases in eight states: Texas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Illinois.

In Oklahoma, a victim has a warning for people, just ’cause you don’t see mosquitoes doesn’t mean you won’t get sick:“I don’t remember getting bit. I don’t remember where, when, why or how!”-Bob Matthews

Matthews got sick back in July, he’s been in a wheelchair ever since.  Doctors even told his wife to call a priest for last rites, after he fell into a coma for two weeks.

Also In Oklahoma, on 12 October Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) official, Doug Brecht, died after fighting the virus for three months.  He got sick while in Ohio.

In Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, state health officials found another infected horse.  The state ranks third in the United States for veterinary cases.

Some reports say most of the cases involving horses, are horses that have not been vaccinated.  There is a vaccine for horses, but not for humans.  A veterinarian in Missouri says horse owners have gotten lack in vaccinations: “We had a pretty good outbreak about seven years ago and everybody vaccinated at that point.  Well, since we vaccinated, the disease kind of went away, so people stopped vaccinating. Well, now it’s coming back, so a lot of these younger horses haven’t been vaccinated…”-Scott Espy

A veterinarian from Louisiana says it’s not pretty when a horse gets sick: “Supportive care for horses that cannot eat, drink, or get up on their own include IV fluids, sling support, or feeding through a stomach tube. Complications may arise from being down, including colic, pressure sores, and muscle injury. Unfortunately, even with the state-of-the-art, round-the-clock care, horses that go down and cannot rise usually do not survive.”-Kristi Gran, Baronne Veterinary Clinic

Gran adds that about 60% of horses with West Nile survive, but about 90% of horses with related Eastern Equine Encephalitis die, or have to be killed.

On 13 October, Louisiana reported another human death, and nine more cases.  12 people have died from the virus in that state.

Massachusetts media could be jumping the gun, when they reported cases of West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis “on its way out”.  They made the claim based on freezing overnight temps, but state health officials continue to urge caution.

On 13 October, officials in Suwannee County, Florida, issued an alert, saying the risk of getting West Nile was actually increasing.

A man from Box Elder County became the first person to die from the virus in Utah.

In New Jersey, Ocean County Health Department reported an eighth human case.

In California, health officials warning of increased cases.  Recently, dozens of dead birds have tested positive for West Nile, and the number of mosquitoes testing positive for the infection has surpassed last year’s numbers, in some counties.

Illinois health officials are reporting the first case of a dead bird testing positive for West Nile.  No dead birds tested positive for the virus in 2011.