West Nile Virus On The Rise Across U.S., Study Says

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) has released a national report confirming the suspicions of many people in the Sachem community about the seeming increase of West Nile present in mosquitos, humans and birds this year.

New York State has confirmed four cases of the virus in human beings, including one in Suffolk County, while numbers across 47 states have set new national records.

In the Sachem boundaries of Holbrook, Holtsville, Farmingville and Ronkonkoma, nearly 20 samples of mosquitos have tested positive for the virus. Those numbers coincide with the CDC report, which revealed that 1118 human cases of West Nile have been reported this year, the highest number of human cases since the virus was first discovered in the U.S. in 1999.

Most of the cases (75%) have been concentrated in five states: Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota and Oklahoma, with nearly half of those cases reporting from Texas. Of the 1118 human cases, 41 have resulted in death, according to the report.

Locally, the Suffolk County Health Department has urged residents throughout the summer to stave off mosquito populations by sweeping away pools of water and reporting incidents of dead birds.