U.S. struggles with spike in cases of West Nile virus

CTVNews.ca Staff
Officials across the United States on Thursday launched a spraying campaign to kill mosquitoes, as the country faces the biggest spike in West Nile Virus in years.
The virus has led to some 700 cases of the disease so far this year, 26 of which resulted in death. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is the highest number of cases reported through the end of July since 2004.
Almost 80 per cent of the cases have been reported in Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, CDC says.
In Texas alone, 10 people have died, prompting the mayor of Dallas to declare a state of emergency. The city will be sprayed with a fine coating of insecticides.
Officials blame the hot, dry summer for allowing more mosquitoes, which transmit the virus, to breed. In the United States, most people are infected from June through September, and the number of infections usually peaks in mid-August, according to CDC.
Four in five infected adults will show no symptoms, but the virus can cause fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and rashes...Continue reading...