West Nile cases are on the rise in Idaho. The state now has eight human cases of West Nile and five additional reports of the mosquito-borne illness are under investigation.
Niki Forbing-Orr with Idaho’s Health and Welfare Department says the state is doing better than other states, like Texas. “So far the CDC is reporting 888 human cases there. All 48 states of the mainland United States have reported west nile activity and nationally 87 people have died," she says. "We’ve not had any deaths in Idaho yet, so we’re crossing our fingers that we don’t.”
Last year, three Idahoans caught the disease. Idaho’s worst year for the virus was 2006 when nearly 1,000 people had West Nile and 23 people died.
Ten Idaho counties have reported evidence of West Nile so far this year.
Copyright 2012 Boise State Public Radio
