Guest Author - Lisa Shea

How many people have died each year from West Nile Virus? West Nile Virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1937. It was first found in the US in 1997, in New York City. Here are the counts and charts as gathered by the CDC.

1999
total reported cases: 62
total deaths: 7
Because West Nile was virtually unknown at the time, it's assumed that there were other cases that simply went unreported.

2000
total reported cases: 21
total deaths: 2
Even with a wider range of West Nile Virus laden mosquitoes, fewer people were infected.

2001
total reported cases: 66
total deaths: 9
The spread was much wider in 2001, covering half of the US. However, most people did not develop serious issues.

2002
total reported cases: 4161
total deaths: 284
2002 saw the vast spread of the virus - and also a frenzy of media attention. Even the slightest cases, that needed no medical attention, were reported.

2003
total reported cases: 9862
total deaths: 264
Again, a media frenzy caused an abundance of reporting on the issue, even though the total deaths were now lower.

2004
total reported cases: 1 (as of 6/2/04)
total deaths: 0 ("")

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