The Associated Press | Posted: Monday, November 20, 2006 12:00 am
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming had 65 confirmed cases of West Nile virus infections with two fatalities in 2006, making it the second-worst year since the disease first arrived in Wyoming in 2002.
The Wyoming Health Department reported the final state numbers Monday, saying about one in four cases developed the neuroinvasive forms of the disease - either meningitis or encephalitis - which bring about more serious symptoms.
More than two thirds of the cases were in Fremont County, including one of the fatalities. Goshen County had nine cases, including one fatality. The remaining cases were in Platte, Big Horn, Washakie, Natrona and Lincoln counties.
Wyoming's worst West Nile season was in 2003, when 393 people were infected and 12 died. In 2004, there were only 10 confirmed infections, with no fatalities; in 2005, 12 people were infected and two died.