title: Clinical features of West Nile virus epidemic in Dallas, Texas, 2012.
abstract: In 2012, Texas has reported the highest number of West Nile virus (WNV) cases in the United States to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this report, we conducted a retrospective chart review of 57 patients with WNV disease and analyzed the clinical features of these patients. Our results revealed that 25 (44%) patients were diagnosed with West Nile fever and 32 (56%) with West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND). The median age for patients with WNND was 54.5 years, and those with encephalitis were more likely to be >60 years old. Pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes were more frequent in patients with WNND. Testing both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for antibodies diagnosed more cases of WNND than just testing serum or CSF alone. The increasing number of WNV cases during this epidemic highlights the need to increase efforts to control mosquito populations and educate the general public.
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Lori
authors: L
authors: Racsa
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Rita
authors: R
authors: Gander
authors: Dallas County Health and Human Services, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Chung
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Southern
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Jade
authors: J
authors: Le
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Stacy
authors: S
authors: Beal
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas County Health and Human Services, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Lee
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Dominick
authors: D
authors: Cavuoti
authors: Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Joan
authors: J
authors: Reisch
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA. Electronic address: Adnan.Alatoom@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors: Adnan
authors: A
authors: Alatoom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012703:Serotyping; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dallas; Epidemic; Neuroinvasive disease; WNV virus