(June 25, 2004) -- L.A. County now has its first human case of the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus (WNV)...and so does Riverside County, in which a 26-year old man developed meningitis.

The news comes as the number of dead crows -- a forerunner of the disease appearing in humans -- continues to mount in eastern L.A. County cities, including Whittier (8 in one week), Cerritos (3) and Downey (3) and adjacent OC areas with multiple reports in Fullerton and Buena Park.

Purple X's indicate WNV-infected dead birds (usually crows) with the most recent test date of 6/19/04 (further data below)

We zoom in for a tigher view below:

The CA Dept. of Health reports a 71 year old L.A. County man (specific location not released) experienced fever and muscle weakeness, while a 26 year old Riverside County man developed meningitis and had to be hospitalized.

8 other human cases have previously been identified in San Bernardino County...bringing the 2004 total human cases of the sometimes serious and occasionally fatal disease to 10 thus far.

No LB WNV-infected dead birds were reported within the latest seven day reporting period from within LB areas...either the ELB region covered by the Greater L.A. County Vector Control District (areas mainly east of Lakewood Blvd. and north of PCH) or in the rest of LB (based on data on the CA Dept. of Health WNV web site).

As first reported last week by LBReport.com, a dead crow infected with WNV was recovered in ELB June 7 on Rutgers Ave. between Wardlow Rd. and Spring St. and between Bellflower Blvd. and Clark Ave.

LBReport.com has received email from readers, reporting inconsistent and sometimes unhelpful responses when reporting dead birds to 1-877-WNVBIRD. Other readers say they received good responses. We are looking into these reports.

No WNV positive mosquitoes have been identified in LB to date in 2004. A previous map indicating otherwise on the CA Dept. of Health's WNV web site has been withdrawn.

In a reporting period ending June 25, a number of WNV infected dead birds were identified in eastern L.A. County cities within the area of the Greater L.A. County Vector Control District. Data below:

2004 number	Species	Recovery date	City	County	Test date
109	American Crow	5/27/04	Pico Rivera	Los Angeles	6/25/04
110	American Crow	6/8/04	La Mirada	Los Angeles	6/25/04
111	American Crow	6/8/04	Santa Fe Springs	Los Angeles	6/25/04
112	American Crow	6/8/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
113	American Crow	6/8/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
114	American Crow	6/8/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
115	American Crow	6/8/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
116	American Crow	6/9/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
117	American Crow	6/9/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
118	American Crow	6/9/04	Artesia	Los Angeles	6/25/04
119	American Crow	6/9/04	Downey	Los Angeles	6/25/04
120	American Crow	6/9/04	Hacienda Heights	Los Angeles	6/25/04
121	American Crow	6/9/04	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	6/25/04
121	American Crow	6/9/04	North Hills	Los Angeles	6/25/04
122	American Crow	6/9/04	Northridge	Los Angeles	6/25/04
123	American Crow	6/9/04	Norwalk	Los Angeles	6/25/04
124	American Crow	6/9/04	Pico Rivera	Los Angeles	6/25/04
125	American Crow	6/10/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
126	American Crow	6/14/04	Cerritos	Los Angeles	6/25/04
127	American Crow	6/14/04	Cerritos	Los Angeles	6/25/04
128	American Crow	6/14/04	Cerritos	Los Angeles	6/25/04
129	American Crow	6/14/04	Northridge	Los Angeles	6/25/04
130	American Crow	6/14/04	Panorama City	Los Angeles	6/25/04
131	American Crow	6/14/04	Whittier	Los Angeles	6/25/04
132	American Crow	6/15/04	Downey	Los Angeles	6/25/04
133	American Crow	6/15/04	Gardena	Los Angeles	6/25/04
134	American Crow	6/15/04	Rowland Heights	Los Angeles	6/25/04
135	American Crow	6/17/04	Downey	Los Angeles	6/25/04

Cities with West Nile Virus Positive Birds

	City	Number of Birds
1	Whittier	31
2	La Mirada	17
3	Cerritos	16
4	Downey	15
5	Pico Rivera	11
6	Santa Fe Springs	9
7	Hacienda Heights	8
8	Norwalk	5
9	North Hills	4
10	Northridge	3
11	South El Monte	3
12	Montebello	2
13	Gardena	2
14	Lakewood	1
15	Bell Gardens	1
16	Reseda	1
17	Harbor City	1
18	Long Beach	1
19	San Marino	1
20	Artesia	1
21	Los Angeles	1
22	Panorama City	1
23	Rowland Heights	1
	Total	136

The CA Arbovirus Surveillance web site (linked on www.westnile.ca.gov) also reports multiple WNV-infected dead crows in nearby Orange County for the period ending June 19 in Fullerton (8), Buena Park (4) and La Palma (3).

"These first West Nile Virus cases in Los Angeles and Riverside counties follow a well-established pattern in which dead birds and mosquitoes infected with the virus preceded the reports of human illnesses," said Dr. Richard Joseph Jackson, CA's public health officer, in a written release. "We expect West Nile virus to continue to spread throughout the state and urge residents to take steps now to protect themselves from mosquito bites," he added.

The CA Dept. of Health Services release says the first L.A. County WNV patient "sought medical care after experiencing fever and muscle weakness this month. He was not hospitalized and his condition is reportedly improving. A Riverside County man, 26 years old, was hospitalized with meningitis this month and later discharged in good condition."

The agency says WNV has been found in birds or mosquitoes in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties this year. Health officials say the risk of serious illness to humans is low, with most individuals infected not experiencing any illness. However about 10%-15% of those infected will show symptoms including fever, headache and body aches...and less than 1% will develop serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis and meningitis. The elderly and those with lowered immune systems are more susceptible to serious illness.

The agency releae added, "In recognition of the public health threat posed by WNV, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger included $977,000 in state funds in the May revision of the proposed state budget to boost California's efforts to control the spread of WNV. The funds would be used to expand surveillance activities to enhance detection of the virus and prompt control efforts."

WNV is transmitted to humans and animals through a mosquito bite...and mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. The CA Dept. of Health Services says:

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