West Nile Virus Update - January 1, 2003 - December 31, 2003

May 10, 2004 -- Wadsworth reported WNV-positive results for 1 dead bird (Washington 1). The bird was collected in September of 2003.

Total number of West Nile virus positive specimens for New York for the year: 1367 dead birds, 471 mosquito pools, 1 live bird, 32 horses, 71 humans (10 deaths), and 3 others.

Dead Birds - 1367
Counties:  
  Albany 165  
  Broome 13  
  Cattaraugus 5  
  Chautauqua 23  
  Chemung 9  
  Chenango 2  
  Clinton 14  
  Columbia 56  
  Cortland 19  
  Delaware 8  
  Dutchess 45  
  Erie 6  
  Essex 2  
  Franklin 1  
  Fulton 5  
  Genesee 2  
  Greene 44  
  Hamilton 2  
  Herkimer 1  
  Jefferson 19  
  Lewis 9  
  Livingston 7  
  Madison 8  
  Monroe 14  
  Montgomery 9  
  Nassau 22  
  Niagara 16  
  NYC 170 (Bronx 29, Brooklyn 44, Manhattan 7, Queens 56, Staten Island 34)  
  Oneida 10  
  Onondaga 36  
  Ontario 14  
  Orange 50  
  Orleans 4  
  Oswego 14  
  Otsego 7  
  Putnam 109  
  Rensselaer 33  
  Rockland 36  
  Saratoga 31  
  Schenectady 6  
  Schoharie 4  
  Schuyler 3  
  Seneca 12  
  St. Lawrence 2  
  Steuben 13  
  Suffolk 173  
  Tompkins 34  
  Ulster 62  
  Warren 1  
  Washington 6  
  Wayne 5  
  Westchester 2  
  Wyoming 2  
  Yates 2  
Mosquito Pools - 471
  Albany 5  
  Broome 4  
  Clinton 1  
  Columbia 2  
  Dutchess 2  
  Erie 8  
  Monroe 1  
  Nassau 29  
  Niagara 2  
  NYC 275 (Bronx 42, Brooklyn 37, Manhattan 11, Queens 123, Staten Island 62)  
  Onondaga 10  
  Orange 12  
  Putnam 1  
  Rockland 67  
  Suffolk 37  
  Westchester 15  
Live Birds - 1
  NYC 1 (Bronx 1)  
Horses - 32
  Albany 1  
  Broome 1  
  Essex 1  
  Greene 6  
  Madison 1  
  Orange 2  
  Rensselaer 1  
  Rockland 1  
  Saratoga 2  
  Suffolk 3  
  Tioga 1  
  Ulster 8  
  Washington 2  
  Wyoming 1  
  Yates 1  
Human Cases - 71 (10)*
  Cattaraugus 1(0)*  
  Dutchess 1(0)*  
  Greene 1**(0)*  
  Herkimer 1**(0)*  
  Monroe 1(0)*  
  Nassau 17(1)*  
  NYC 31(6)* (Bronx 6, Brooklyn 8, Manhattan 3, Queens 11, Staten Island 3)  
  Onondaga 1(0)*  
  Schuyler 1(1)*  
  Suffolk 10(2)*  
  Warren 1(0)*  
  Westchester 4(0)*  
  Yates 1(0)*  
Others - 3
  Albany 2  
  NYC 1 (Bronx 1)  
* Number in parentheses indicates number of deaths.
** WNV infections in 2 human cases (Greene County 1, Herkimer 1) were likely acquired outside of New York State.

Notes of clarification: 1) Not all animals testing positive are necessarily ill or symptomatic of WNV infection. Some specimens are tested only for surveillance purposes. 2)The total number of WNV-positive mammals or birds depends on the amount of surveillance and testing in each county, and is not necessarily associated with degree of WNV risk; however, risk can be elevated in counties with elevated dead crow densities. 3)Dead crow sightings are a possible early warning of, but not definitive confirmation of, West Nile virus activity. Crows die of many causes and reporting levels may vary among counties. Numerical cutoff points between risk levels reflect past experience and may change as new data become available.