As hard as the West Nile virus hit Nebraska in 2003, it hit Colorado even harder. Ÿ Colorado recorded 2,947 cases and 63 deaths in 2003. It was the most any state has recorded in a given year since West Nile first showed up in New York in 1999. Ÿ (Nebraska’s number of cases in ’03 was the second-highest recorded in a calendar year in the United States.) Ÿ Dr. Elisabeth Lawaczeck, Colorado’s state public health veterinarian, and other experts say there are many factors that play into an area’s levels of West Nile in a given year, including:
>> Weather conditions (rainfall, timeliness of rainfall, temperature, recent drought, winds)
>> Mosquito numbers, species and distribution
>> Bird populations (species, density, immunity levels)
>> Human populations (density, proximity to infected bird and mosquito populations, immunity levels)
>> Irrigation levels (can create pools of standing water)
>> Mosquito-control efforts
>> Individuals’ use of mosquito repellent and protective clothing
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