For several years, there’s been an overall downward trend in the number of human cases of West Nile virus in Ohio. But now, there’s word that this year’s cases reversed that trend. The illness usually appears in summer months, when infected mosquitoes bite humans. Richard Gary is the top bug expert at the Ohio Department of Health. He talks with statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen about the rise in the number of human cases this year.
Now that Ohio has been hit with frost, the traditional season for West Nile virus has ended. The number of human cases may still be adjusted as recent cases are reported, but at the moment, Ohio has 21 confirmed cases of the illness this year. In one of those cases, the patient died.