By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
By far, the month of September has seen the highest rate of West Nile Virus infections in Kansas. Since data collection began in 2001, September has seen 195 infections statewide. August is next on the list with 115 infections, and July is a distant third with 50 infections. Barton County Health Director Karen Winkelman said the virus can be tricky to detect.
"A lot of people can get infected and not have any symptoms at all," she said. "Sometimes, a blood test might be done for something else and there's an indication that person had had West Nile Virus in the past. There are lab tests that can differentiate between a past infection or a current infection."
Typical symptoms include fever, achiness, joint achiness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and a headache. The Centers for Disease Control reports that less than one percent of all West Nile cases develop neuroinvasive disease, which may manifest as meningitis or encephalitis. In Kansas, nearly 42 percent of all cases reported are listed as neuroinvasive. The CDC estimates 70-80 percent of all cases are asymptomatic, but contracting the virus can be a serious matter for those with other health concerns.
"People that have immunocompromised systems like diabetes, cancer, maybe have had a transplant, those are people we worry more about having long-term effects," Winkelman said. "Usually, healthy individuals recover. It's uncomfortable during that time and it can vary how long you might have symptoms, but it's the immunocompromised that are the most at risk for long-term."
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 14 known cases in 2022, 17 cases in 2021, and nine cases in 2020, with just one death in that span. Barton County has not had a recorded case since 2019. The last-known transmission of Zika virus in the United States was in 2017.