More West Nile cases have been confirmed in Iowa. The two cases reported Friday by Iowa’s Public Health Department were in a central Iowa man in his 60s and a girl between ten and 19 years of age in central Iowa. This brings to 11 the total number of cases this summer; there were 147 last year. There’s also a second case of LaCrosse encephalitis, a form of mosquito-borne disease that’s been around for years but causes only a handful of cases of illness each season. Health authorities think West Nile is going to be the same as it’s following a pattern typical in eastern states, first appearing, rising in numbers fast for a couple of years, then dropping off just as fast to remain a constant but rare infection in years to come.
