Professor - Pace University
Dept. of Biological Sciences
On March 21, 2000 results of a survey of 577 residents conducted between October 2 and October 6, 1999 in northern Queens was reported.
The survey covered a 3-mile-square area of northern Queens covering Auburndale, Linden Hill, Murray Hill and Whitestone. The area covers 46,220 people.
Dr. Farzad Mostashari, medical epidemiologist for the city Health Department, conducted the survey.
A total of 677 people between the ages of 5 and 96 participated in the survey.
Results showed that blood samples of 19 of the volunteers or 2.6% of the participants tested positive for antibodies that showed previous exposure to the West Nile virus.
Of the infected group, 20% had "nonspecific" aches, pains or fever but 80% of the infected individuals showed NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL. A total of only 1% of the participants were hospitalized.
Dr. Neal Cohen, the city's health commissioner, reported that statistically speaking the range of infection may be as low as 1.2% or as high as 4.1%. The estimate, translated into numbers, is between 533 and 1,903 persons, in the surveyed area were likely to have been exposed.
To remind the reader, Queens had 4 deaths and 46 hospitalized during the height of the virus attack. Of the 4 deaths, all were over 75 years of age.
During the 1999 outbreak, 13 additional cases were reported in the metropolitan area (outside of Queens) with 3 additional deaths.
Dr. Cohen reported these results were similar to a 1996 outbreak of the West Nile encephalitis in Bucharest, Romania.
In addition, he stated: " While the results of this survey cannot be projected onto New York City as a whole, we expect that infection rates elsewhere in the city WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER".
Dr. Bill would like to make the point once again that the highest number of bird deaths and highest number of mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus were found in northern Queens - the area of the survey.
Finding a virus or remnants of a virus in an organism does not mean the virus led to catastrophic effects. The summer preceding the outbreak was EXTREMELY HOT AND HUMID and definitely dehydrating.
Any symptom should be monitored, but the fact remains that the majority of infected humans showed absolutely no symptoms.
A risk benefit discussion must be used in this matter. As Dr. Bill indicated on previous west nile pages, it's now officially spring in New York - and again the media is hyping using larvicides and perhaps even pesticides to eradicate mosquitoes which may or may not be infected with west nile virus.
